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S  PRINCETON.   N.   J. 

V  Part  of  the 

^  ADDISON  ALEXANDER  LIBRARY; 

h  which  was  presented  by 

\l  Messks.  R.  L.  and  a.  Stuart. 


^?l 


Cose-, 

Shelf,        Section 

Jiook,        No, .... 


/.I 


r 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

OF 

IN  THE  COURSE  OF  WHICH  ARE  ELUCIDATED  MANY  PREDICTIONS, 
WHICH  OCCUR 

IN   ISAIAH,    AND  DANIEL, 
IJV  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THE  EVANGELISTS, 

AND 

THE  BOOKS  OF  REVELATION; 

AND  WHICH  ARE  THOUGHT  TO  FORETELL,  AMONG  OTHER 
GREAT  EVENTS, 

A  REVOLUTION  IJV  FRANCE, 

FAVORABLE  TO  THE  INTERESTS  OF  MANKIND, 

THE  OVERTHROW  OF  THE  PAPAL  POWER, 

AND    OF 

ECCLESIASTICAL  TYRANNY, 
THE  DOWNFAL  OF  CIVIL  DESPOTISM, 

AND  THE  SUBSEQUENT  MELIORATION  OF  THE  STATE  OF 
THE  WORLD: 

TOGETHER  WITH  A  LARGE  COLLECTION  OF  EXTRACTS,  INTERSPERSED 
THROUGH  THE  WORK,  AIJ*D  TAKEN  FROM  NUMEROUS  COMMENTA- 
TORS ;    AND   PARTICULARLY  FROM 

Joseph  Mede,  Vitringa,  Dr.  Thomas  Goodwin,  Dr.  Henry  More,  Dr.  John  Owen,  Dr.  Cressene  r, 
Peter  Jurieu,  Brenius,  Bishop  Chandler,  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  Mr.  William  Lowth,  Fleniin;';, 
Bengelius,  Daubuz,  Whitby,  Lowman,  Bishop  Newton,  and  Bishop  Kurd. 


BY  THE  REV.  JOSEPH  TOWERS,  L.  L.  D. 


VOL.  II. 

FIRST  AMERICAN   EDITION. 


PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  WILLIAM  DUANEj    PHILADELPHIA, 

1808. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  XX.  Predictions  in  Daniel,  which  speak  the 
same  language  with  the  recently  cited  prophecies  of  the 
Apocalypse,  and  are  applicable  not  only  to  the  antichris- 
tian  governments  of  Europe,  but  to  those  of  the  world 
in  general.  1 

Ch.  XXI.  Remarks  on  the  Numbers  which  occur 
in  Daniel  and  St.  John,  and  on  those  imperfect  notices 
which  they  have  given  us  with  respect  to  the  time,  when 
some  great  events  will  be  accomplished.  1 J 

Ch.  XXII.  A  prediction,  uttered  by  Christ  himself, 
relative  to  the  destruction  of  all  antichristian  dominion 
and  usurpation.  St 

App.  to  ch.  XXII.  Bishop  Porteus's  reflections 
on  the  Critical  Complexion  of  the  present  times.  45 

Ch.  XXIII.  The  Sixth  Seal  shewn  to  be  prophetic 
of  the  overthrow  of  all  antichristian  Dominion  in  thf 
European  world  ;  together  with  a  short  account  of  the 
accomplishment  of  the  first,  second,  lourth,  and  fifth 
seals  ;  and  a  new  explication  of  the  Third  Seal,  in  the 
course  of  which  are  introduced  a  number  of  extract ;, 
relative  to  the  decline  and  fall  of  the  Roman  cmpirr,  nnd 
fjie  irruDiions  of  the  Northi-n''.  nation^..  -It". 


C  ON TEM'ii. 


Ch.  XXIV.  Predictions  in  Isaiah,  in  Ha^gai,  and 
the  Second  Psahn,  of  similar  import  v/ith  the  sixth  seal, 
though  of  less  restricted  application  ;  Vvith  s-ome  extracts 
relating  to  the  Double  Sense  in  prophecy.  77 

Ch.  XXV.  Remarks  on  the  Sixth  Vial,  and  on  a 
prophecy  in  Genesis,  Ezckiel,  and  Daniel ;  comprising 
observations  on  the  fall  of  the  Turkish  empire,  and  the 
past  and  present  state  of  Arabia  and  Egypt.  99 

Ch.  XXVI.  The  seventh  Vial  shewn  to  foretell  a 
Revolution  in  the  state  of  Europe  ;  with  remarks  on 
fiome  contemporaneous  predictions  of  the  Apocalypse.   140 

Ch.  XXVII.  An  inquiry  into  the  meaning  of  the 
latter  part  of  Christ's  prophecy,  recorded  in  the  twenty- 
first  chapter  of  Luke.  159 

Ch.  XXVIII.  Objections  against  the  common  inter- 
pretations of  Christ's  prophecy.  183 

Ch.  XXIX.  Extracts  relative  to  the  Dispersion  and 
the  restoration  d-f  the  Jews,  and  a  selection  of  passages 
of  scripture  foretelling  those  events ;  together  with  a 
short  account  of  the  false  Messiahs  and  impostors,  who 
have  appeared  among  the  Jews,  and  some  quotations 
relative  to  the  Afghans  and  the  Tartars.  195 

Ch.  XXX.  An  elucidation  of  passages  which  prove, 
that  that  happy  period,  commonly  denominated  the  Mil- 
lennium, is  destined  at  length  to  arrive  ;  together  with 
arguments  in  opposition  to  the  opinion,  that  Christ  will 
descend  to  reign  upon  earth  at  the  commencement  of  it, 
and  some  remarks  on  the  tendency  of  Christianity  to 
cause  the  overthroW  of  tyranny,  and  the  establishment  of 
equal  government.  256 

App.  to  Ch.  XXX.  Reflections  on  the  beneficial 
effects,  which  Christianity  has  already  produced,  in  favor 
of  Civilization  and  Freedom,  of  Literature  and  Virtue ; 
;ind  on  the  influence  it  may  be  expected  hereafter  to  have 
in  the  promotion  of  Liberty.  287 


CONTENTS.  V 

Ch.  XXXI.    Farther  thoughts  on  the  True  Nature 
of  the  Millennium.  242 

Index  of  Texts  directly  or  indirectly  illustrated.     373 
Index  of  Prophetic  Symbols  explained.  381 

General  Index.  385" 


It  is  proper  to  inform  the  reader^  that  the  heads  pre- 
fixed to  the  chapters^  are  more  brief  than  those  co7itained 
jn  the^  preceding'  table  of  contents. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


ON    THE   MONARCHICAL    IMAGE    AND    THE  TEN-HORNED  BEAST 
IN    DANIEL. 

THE  predictions,  relative  to  modern  times,  which  occur 
in  chapters  ii.  and  vii.  of  Daniel,  are  peculiarly  worthy  of 
examination ;  for  they  are  more  chan  usually  clear,  and  will 
reflect  a  light  on  the  apocalyptical  prophecies'.  But,  pre- 
viously to  entering  on  a  brief  examination  of  them,  I  shall 
cite  a  few  short  testimonies  of  writers  respecting  this  dis- 
tinguished prophet. 

With  respect  to  the  authenticity  of  the  book  of  Daniel, 
'  there  is,'  says  bp.  Newton,  *  all  external  evidence  that  can 
well  be  had  or  desired  in  a  case  of  this  nature  ;  not  only  the 
testimony  of  the  whole  Jewish  church  and  nation,  who  have 
constantly  received  this  book  as  canonical ;  but  of  Josephus 
particularly,  who  commends  him  as  the  greatest  of  the  pro- 
phets; of  the  Jewish  Targums  and  Talmuds,  which  fre- 
quently cite  and  appeal  to  his  authority ;  of  St.  Paul  and  St. 
John,  who  have  copied  many  of  his  prophecies  ;  of  our  Sa- 
viour himself,  who  citeth  his  words,  and  styleth  him  Da- 
niel the  prophet;''  and  '  of  ancient  historians,  who  relate 
many  of  the  same  transactions. — Nor  is  the  internal  less 
powerful  and  convincing  than  the  external  evidence  ;  for 
the  language,  the  style,  the  manner  of  writing,  and  all  other 
internal  marks  and  characters,  are  perfectly  agreeable  to 
that  age  ;  and  he  appears  plainly  and  undeniably  to  have 

1  •  Comparing  scripture  with  scriptui-e  is  the  best  way  to  understand 
both  tlie  one  and  the  other,'  bp.  Newton,  vol.  I.  p.  494. 

Vol.  II.  A 


3  CHAP.    XX^ 

been  a  prophet  by  the  exact  accomplishment  of  his  pro- 
phecies, as  well  those  which  have  already  been  fulfilled,  as 
those  which  are  now  fulfilling  in  the  world^' 

Dr.  Samuel  Chandler,  in  speaking  of  Daniel,  says,  '  upon 
account  of  his  extraordinary  piety  and  wisdom,  he  is  taken 
notice  of  and  commended  by  EzekieP,  who  was  his  fellow 
prophet  and  contemporary. — The  purity  of  the  language  in 
which  the  book  is  written,  both  of  the  Chaldee  and  He- 
brew*, is  an  undeniable  argument  of  its  great  antiquity.' 
For  '  since  every  language,  from  the  very  nature  of  it,  is 
in  a  constant  flux,  and  in  every  age  deviating  from  what  it 
was  in  the  former ;  the  purity  of  Daniel's  language  makes 
it  evident,  that  it  must  be  written  before  the  purity  of  those 
languages  was  lost,  i.  e.  about  the  time  when  Ezekiel's  Da- 
niel lived  and  flourished^' 

Porphyry,  an  heathen  philosopher  of  ihc  third  century,, 
and  a  pupil  of  Longinus,  who  wrote  an  elaborate  work  in 
fifteen  books  against  Christianity,  did,  as  we  are  informed 
by  Jerom,  object  against  the  character  of  Daniel,  that  he 
was  criminal  in  accepting  with  so  much  readiness  the  ho- 
nors conferred  upon  him  at  Babylon.  '  But  there  is  no 
ground,'  says  the  excellent  Lardner,  '■  for  such  a  censure  t 
Daniel  was  guilty  of  no  mean  compliances  :  he  ascribed  all 
his  wisdom  to  God  ;  and  upon  every  occasion  preserved 
his  integrity  without  blemish,  and  openly  professed  his  zeal 
for  true  religion,  and  the  worship  of  God  according  to  the 
directions  of  the  law  of  Moses.  It  was  not  decent  for  him 
to  refuse  the  honors  bestowed  by  a  great  king,  when  no  sin- 
ful compliances  were  exacted  ;  and  when  he  might,  in  the 
high  station  to  which  he  was  advanced,  both  promote  the 
interest  of  true  religion,  and  the  welfare  of  his  people  in  a 


2  Vol.  II.  p.  16.  3  XIV.  14;  xxviii.  3. 

4  '  This  prophecy  is  writ  partly  in  Hebrew,  and  partly  in  Chaldee  : 
for  which  this  reason  may  be  assigned  ;  that  those  parts  of  it  in  which  the 
Babylonian  empire  was  concerned  were  writ  in  that  language,  viz.  from- 
eh.  ii.  4.  to  the  end  of  the  viitli  chapter:  a  great  part  of  which  was  pro 
bably  entered  into  their  public  registers.'     Mr  Lowth'.s  Intr.  to  Dan. 

5  Vindic.  of  Dan.  p.  61,  -63. 


CHAP.  XX.  3 

Strange  countr5%  Daniel  does  not  appear  to  have  been  fond 
of  worldly  honors.  When  Belshazzar  made  him  great 
promises,  he  answered  :  Let  thy  gifts  be  to  thyself  and givt 
thy  rewards  to  another^.'' 

A  learned  anonymous  writer,  in  his  observations  on  the 
book  of  Daniel,  says,  '  I  think  it  no  inconsiderable  argu- 
ment, that  it  has  not  been  foisted  in  upon  the  world  by 
Christian  or  Jewish  zealots,  that  parts  of  it  have  continued 
so  long  in  obscurity,  and  now,  in  this  age,  are  gradually 
explained.  Had  any  imposition  been  designed,  these  pre- 
tended oracles  would  have  been  understood  at  the  first  mo- 
ment of  their  publication,  as  well  as  now  ;  and  would  not 
have  waited  for  elucidation  till  this  time,  so  long  after  the 
views  of  a  false  prophet  must  have  been  at  an  end^' 

*  Our  blessed  Saviour,'  says  Dr.  Apthorp,  '  has  so  as- 
serted the  authority  of  the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  as  to  rest 
his  own  veracity  on  their  truth^  j'  and  it  is  of  Daniel  that 
Sir  I.  Newton  says,  '  to  reject  his  prophecies,  is  to  reject 
the  Christian  religion.  For  this  religion  is  founded  upon 
his  prophecy  concerning  the  Messiah^.' 

'  I  conceive  Daniel,'  says  Mede,  '  to  be  ApocJ-lyps'is  Con- 
tracta^  and  the  Apocalypse  Daniel  Explicate-)  in  that  where 
both  treat  about  the  same  subject;  name'y  what  was  re- 
vealed to  Daniel  concerning  the  Foi?i"th  Kingdom,  but 
summatim  and  in  the  gross,  is  shewed  to  St.  John  par ticu- 
latim,  with  the  distinction  and  ord^r  of  the  several  fates 
and  circumstances'".'  '  The  Apocalypse  of  John,'  says 
Sir  I.  Newton,  '  is  written  in  the  same  style  and  language 
with  the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  and  hath  the  same  relation 
to  them,  v/hich  they  have  to  one  another,  so  that  all  of 
them  together  make  up  Kit  one  complete  prophecy".' 


6  Dan.  v.  17.     Lardner's  Works,  vol.  VIII.  p.  203. 

7  Commentaries  and  Essays,  vol.  I.  sig-nature  Synergus,  p.  5C8. 

8  Vol.  I.  p.  237. 

9  P.  25.  10  P.  964. 

11  P.  254.  With  respect  to  Sir  I.  Newton's  character  as  a  critic  and  a 
theolog-ian,  tlie  testimon)-  of  an  adversary  may  be  cited.  '  The  first  of 
philosophers,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  was  deeply  skilled  in  critical  and  theo- 
logical studies.'     Decl.  and  Fall  of  the  Rom.  Emp.  vol.  VIII.  p.  272. 


CHAP.    XX. 


Of  the  predictions  in  ch.  ii.  and  ch.  vii.  of  Daniel  such 
is  the  preciseness,  that  they  admit  not  of  two  interpreta- 
tions'*. That  they  refer  to  a  remote  period,  the  prophet 
has  himself  declared,  telling  us  in  the  former  of  those  chap- 
ters (v.  28),  that  they  related  to  xvhat  shall  be  in  the  lat- 
ter days. 

In  chapter  ii.  it  is  predicted,  that  the  great  linage^  sym- 
bolical of  the  monarchies  of  the  world,  shall  be  overthrown 
and  destroyed  ;  and  (v.  34  and  42)  that  its  Ten  Toes  shall 
be  shattered  to  atoms.  *  The  great  idol  of  Daniel  was,' 
says  a  valuable  writer,  '  very  properly  used  as  a  represent- 
ation of  the  grand  imposture  under  living  princes,  who 
were  worshipped  as  Gods,  which  was  to  continue  to  de- 
ceive the  whole  world  from  Daniel's  time  forward.'  And 
speaking  of  St.  John's  prediction,  that  men  shall  worship 
the  ten-horned  Beast,  he  says,  *■  worshippings  as  I  have 
already  shewed,  rightly  expresses  that  unreasonable  ido- 
latrous respect,  which  mankind  have  in  all  ages  shewn  to 
absolute  princes,  by  treating  them  as  Gods".'  And  it  is 
observed  by  bp.  Chandler,  that  human  figures,  in  early 
times,  wer«,  '  as  the  remains  in  ancient  coins  still  shew, 
the  usual  syn*)ols,  whereby  cities  and  people  were  known. 
And  the  metal  *hey  were  made  of,  and  the  colers  that 
adorned  them  (of  vhich  the  herald's  art  preserves  yet  some 
traces),  were  farthet  marks  to  distinguish  them  from  each 
other'*.' 

The  demolition  of  the  metallic  image  is  represented  un- 
der a  well-known  figure,  that  of  a  stone^  which,  being  cut 
out  xvithout  hands,  smote  the  image  on  his  feet,  and  brake 


12  Dr.  Sykes,  speaking  of  chapters  ii.  and  vii.  of  Daniel,  says,  '  the  pro- 
phetic style  is  plain  and  easy  ;  and  the  terms  such  as  will  admit  of  very 
little,  if  any  debate.'    Ess.  on  the  Tr.  of  the  Chr.  Hel.  p.  12. 

13  An  Ess.  on  Script.  Proph  and  particularly  on  the  Three  Periods  of 
Daniel,  1724,  p.  58,  84.  This  wi-iter  expresses  his  expectation,  that  the 
year  1790  would  be  a  memorable  epocha,  distinguished  by  great  and  mo- 
mentous events  ;  but  his  expectation  was  gi-ounded  on  an  erroneous  com- 
putation of  the  periods  of  Daniel.     See  p,  158. 

14  Def.  of  Chr.  p.  95. 


CHAP.  XX.  5 

them  to  pieces  ;  which  prophecy  conveys  a  similar  meaning 
to  a  passage  in  the  Apocalypse   already  expatiated  upon, 
that  the  Lamb  shall  overcome  the  Ten  Kings.  '  The  Ten  Toes 
of  the  image,'  says  Mr.  Lowth,  when  speaking  of  the  Ro- 
man empire,  '  signify  the  Ten  Kings,  who  were  in  after- 
times  to  divide  this   kingdom   among  themselves  denoted 
by  the  Ten  Horns  of  this  fourth  Beast,  mentioned  in  ch. 
vii.  7,  campared  with  Rev.  xvii.  12.'     By  the  stone   being 
a  species  of  mineral  altogether  different  from  that  of  which 
the  image  was  composed,  it  was,  says  bp.  Chandler,  '  im- 
plied, that  this  new  kingdom  should  be  not  only  different 
in  number,  or  a  distinct  empire,  but  of  another  nature  from 
that  of  the  image'^'     Like  an  unshapen  stone,  alike  des- 
titute of  polish  and  of  magnitude,  the  dispensation  of  Je- 
sus was  to  be  principally  propagated  by  men  of  the  plainest 
manners,  unadorned  by  learning,  and  undignified  by  rank  ; 
and,  at  its  first  rise,  it  was  to  make  a  small  and  comparatively 
inconsiderable   progress.      *   The   stone    cut   out  without 
hands,'  says  Mat.  Henry,  '  represented  the  kingdom   of 
Jesus   Christ.'     It  is   said  to  be  '  cut  out  of  the  mountai7i 
without  handsy  for  it  should  be   neither  raised,  nor  sup- 
ported by  human  poAver  or  policy;  no  visible  hand  should 
act  in  the  setting  it  up,  but  it  should  be  done  invisibly  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  :  this  was  the  Stone  zvhich 
the  builders  refused^  because  it  was  not  cut  out  by  their 
hands,  but  it  is  now  become  the  Head  Stone  of  the  corner.^ 
Mat.  Henry  also  observes,  that  Christ  himself  declares 
(Mat.  xxi.  44),  with  a  reference  to  this  prophecy'^,  that  on 
xvhomsoever  this  Stone  shall  fall^  it  rvill grind  him  to  pow- 
der.    And  to  whom  does  the  prophecy  of  Daniel  relate  ? 
Unquestionably  to  the  Ten  antichristian  Monarchies,  which 
are  established,  somewhere  or  other,  in  the  European  quar- 

15  Def.  of  Chr.  p.  97. 

16  That  our  Saviour  in  his  discourses  had  these  prophecies  of  Daniel 
very  frequently  in  view,  Dr.  Sykcs  has  proved  in  his  Ess.  on  the  Chr.  Rcl. 
p.  oO,  79 


6  CHAP.  XX. 

ter  of  the  globe.     Let  tyrants  read  this  asseveration  of  our 
Saviour,  and  tremble. 

In  V.  32  and  33  it  is  declared,  that  this  imagers  head  was 
of  fine  gold^  his  breasts  and  his  arms  of  silver^  his  belly  and 
his  thig'hs  of  brass,  his  le^s  of  iro7i,  his  feet  part  of  iroti 
and  part  of  clay.  "Now  the  commentators  prove  at  large, 
that  the  golden  part  of  the  monarchical  image  represented 
the  empire  of  the  Assyrians,  the  silver  that  of  the  Persi- 
ans, the  brass  that  of  the  Greeks,  and  the  iron  and  the 
clay  that  of  the  princes  of  the  Roman  empire.  It  was  on 
account  of  its  great  strength,  as  the  prophet  himself  informs 
us,  that  the  fourth  empire  was  compared  to  the  last  of  these 
metals.  And  the  fourth  kingdom  shall  be  strong  as  iro7i; 
forasmuch  as  iron  breaketh  in  pieces  and subdueth  all  things  ; 
and  as  iro'n  that  breaketh  all  these,  shall  it  break  in  pieces 
and  bruise^^. 

'■  Daniel's  own  interpretation  is,'  says  bp.  Chandler,  so 
plain,  that  no  unbiassed  person  can  easily  mistake  in  the 
empires  he  prophecies  of.  He  is  express  in  the  number. 
There  shall  be  four  kingdoms ;  and  he  counts  the  Babylo- 
nian, then  in  being,  for  the  firsf^ .  History  tells  us,  the 
Medo-Pei-sian  broke,  and  succeeded  the  Babylonian.  The 
Greek  empire  came  into  the  place  of  the  Persian  by  con- 
quest, and  is  therefore  the  third.  No  historian  ever  con- 
lined  the  Greek  empire  to  Alexander's  person,  or  made  a 
distinct  empire  of  the  four  kingdoms,  that  arose  upon  his 
death.  The  Greek  was  destroyed  in  its  two  latest  branches, 
that  of  the  Seleucides  and  Ptolemies  by  the  Roman,  which 
is  consequently  the  fourth  kingdom,  and  answers  in  every 
respect  to  its  iron  character'*.' 

Since  it  is  said  in  v.  34,  that  the  stone  smote  the  image ; 
and  in  v.  35,  that  then  -was  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass,  the 
silver,  and  the  gold,  broken  to  pieces  together",  and  be- 

16  V.  40.  17  V.  38.  18  Def.  of  Chr.  p.  99. 

19  In  V.  45  it  is  again  said,  that  the  stone,  which  was  cut  out  of  the  moun- 
tain without  hands,  brake  in  pieces  the  iron,  the  brass,  the  clay,  the  siher,  and 
the  gold. 


CHAP.  XX.  T 

came  like  the  chaff  of  the  summer  threshing-jioors  ;  and  the 
xvind  carried  thetn  axvay^  that  no. place  rv  as  found  for  them^° ; 
we  must  of  necessity  assent  to  the  observation  of  bp.  Hurd, 
that  '  the  four  kingdoms  of  Daniel — form  a  prophetic  ge- 
ography, being  considered,  ir  the  eye  of  prophecy,  as  co- 
existent' and  '  as  still  alive''';'  and  we  must  conclude,  that 
not  only  in  Europe,  but  in  all  the  countries  of  the  globe, 
formerly  possessed  by  the  Babylonians  and  Persians,  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,-  the  modern  antichristian  monarchies 
shall  be  so  completely  de'stroyed,  that  not  the  minutest  por- 
tion of  their  power  shall  be  suffered  to  maintain  its  ground. 
From  an  observation,  shortly  to  be  alleged  from  Sir  I. 
Newton,  this  conclusion  will  appear  farther  evident.  All 
the  best  commentators  do,  indeed,  agree,  that  the  fourth 
of  Daniel's  empire  is  the  Roman  in  its  largest  signification  ; 
and  that  it  includes,  not  only  the  republican  government  of 
the  Consuls,  not  only  the  arbitrary  government  of  the  Em- 
perors, but  the  multiplied  dominion  of  their  successors, 
^le  Ten  Kings  ;  and  it  must  therefore  be  admitted,  in  con- 
sistency with  this,  that  the  other  metals  are  not  merely  em- 
blei-^atic  of  the  empires  of  Assyria,  of  Persia,  and  of 
Greece,  properly  so  called,  but  likewise  of  the  modern  as 
well  as*he  ancient  monarchies,  erected  in  those  parts  of 
the  globe  These  last,  in  the  strict  acceptation  of  the 
words,  had  ndeed  perished  antecedently  to  the  first  propa- 
gation of  Christianity  ;  so  that  the  symbolic  stone,  having 
no  existence,  cOild  not  possibly  have  contributed  to  break 
them  in  pieces. 

The  words  of  JuiVii  and  of  bishops  Newton  and  Chan- 
dler, I  next  cite,  though  it  must  be  acknowleged,  that  on  a 
matter,  predicted  with  s^  much  plainness,  there  is  little 
need  of  farther  elucidatioi.  or  of  additional  authorities. 
*  These  Ten  Toes,'  says  the  divine  of  Rotterdam,  '  are  the 
Ten  Kings,  which  were  to  make  tap  the  kingdom  of  Anti- 


20  The  expression  alludes,  says  Mr.  Lowth,  •  to  the  threshing-floors  it 
the  Eastern  countries,  which  were  usually  placed  on  th'?  tops  of  hills. ' 

21  Vol.  II.  p.  143. 


9  CHAP.    XX. 

christ",  and  reign  together  Avith  him,  in  the  last  period  of 
the  Roman  empire,  during  the  1260  years  marked  in  the 
Revelation^^'  '  The  kingdom  of  Christ,'  says  the  bishop 
of  Bristol,  '  was  first  set  up,  while  the  Roman  empire 
was  in  its  full  strength  with  legs  of  iron.  The  Roman  em- 
pire was  afterwards  divided  into  Ten  lesser  kingdoms,  the 
remains  of  which  are  subsisting  at  present.  The  image  is 
still  standing  upon  his  feet  and  toes  of  iron  and  clay  : — but 
the  stone  will  one  day  smite  the  image  upon  the  feet  and  toes^ 
and  destroy  it  utterly^*.'  Not  unsimilar  is  the  language  of 
bp.  Chandler.  '  The  kingdom  of  the  mountain^  says  the 
prelate,  '  shall  beat  the  feet  of  the  monarchical  statue  to 
dust^^.'  In  truth,  the  prophet  himself  does  not  merely 
predict,  that  the  feet  of  this  image  of  monarchy  shall  be 
broken  in  pieces  ;  but  he  afterwards  speaks  without  a  figure, 
adding  by  way  of  explanation,  v.  44  ;  that  all  these  king- 
doms shall  be  broken  in  pieces  and  consumed.  To  darken 
the  import  of  such  language  would  be  a  vain  attempt.  As 
the  ruin  of  these  Ten  Kings  appears  plainly  announced  b^ 
the  voice  of  prophecy,  will  not  some  of  the  readers  of  Tr. 
Gill's  Exposition  of  Daniel,  when  they  peruse  his  enui«e- 
ration^''  of  the  countries  which  they  govern,  take  e^ecial 
notice  of  the  imperial  dominion  in  Germany,  and  of  the 
monarchies  of  Sardinia  and  Spain ;  and  be  rea^y  to  sus- 
pect, that  the  overthrow  at  least  of  these  tyrannic  govern- 
ments is  not  removed  to  any  very  remote  di^t^nce  ? 

It  is  observed  in  v.  42,  that  the  Toes  f  the  Feet  were 
part  of  iron  and  part  of  clay^  i.  e.  say^  Mat.  Henry,  the 
Ten  Kingdoms  differed  in  point  of  strength ;  and  in  the 
next  verse  it  is  added,  -uohereas  thov  saxvest  iron  mixt  with 
miry  clay^  they  shall  tningle  theisehes  xvith  the   s^.ed  of 


22  In  order  to  understand  the  Apr^^alypse,  it  is  of  the  first  importance, 
that  the  reader  fix  in  his  mind  co'-'ect  ideas  of  the  genuine  extent  of  the 
antichristian  empire,  and  lea^'  who  are  the  persons  who  hold  within  it  a 
high  pre-eminence  of  crimes  and  power. 

23  Vol.  II.  p.  290  24  Vol.  I.  p.  426. 

25  Def  of  Chr-atianity,  p.  106.  Tlie  distinction  of  Mr.  Mede,  hereaf- 
ter to  be  given  in  his  own  words,  tlie  bishop  here  adopts. 

26  On  Dan,  vil.  24. 


CHAP.    XX.  9 

men^  but  they  shall  7iot  cleave  one  to  another.  This,  says 
Mr.  Lowth,  signifies  that  '  these  Ten  Kingdoms  shall  be  a 
medley  of  people  of  different  nations,  laws,  and  customs  : 
and  although  the  kings  of  the  several  nations  shall  try  to 
strengthen  themselves  by  marriage-alliances  into  one  ano- 
ther's families,  yet  the  different  interests  which  they  pur- 
sue, will  make  them  often  engage  in  wars  with  each  other.' 
Before  it  was  otherwise.  Antecedently  to  the  dominion 
and  independence  of  these  countries,  Pagan  Rome  formed 
one  firm  compact  body,  governed  by  the  same  laws,  and 
acknowleging  the  same  sovereign. 

'  It  is,'  declares  Dr.  More,  '  the  universal  sense  of  all 
ecclesiastic  writers,  that  the  Fourth  Beast  is  the  Roman 
empire,  as  both  Cornelius  a  Lapide  and  Caspar  Sanctius, 
both  of  them  Jesuits,  yet  do  roundly  assert*^'  '  That  the 
Roman  empire,'  says  Dr.  Worthington**,  was  to  be  divided 
into  Ten  Kingdoms,  was  understood  from  this  prophecy, 
and  from  Daniel's  vision  of  the  Fourth  Beast,  with  Ten 
Horns,  corresponding  to  it,  by  7nany  of  the  ancient  fathers^'^ 
who  lived  some  centuries  before  any  such  division  was 
made,  or  seemed  in  the  least  probable.  And  that  this  was 
the  tradition  of  ecclesiastical  writers  in  general  before  his 
time,  is  testified  by  St.  Jerom^°.'  To  the  same  purpose 
speaks  Joseph  Mede.  That  the  Roman  empire  was  '  the 
fourth  kingdom  of  Daniel  was  believed  by  the  church  of 
Israel  both  before  and  in  our  Saviour's  time  ;  received  by 
the  disciples  of  the  apostles,  and  the  whole  Christian 
church  for  the  first  400  years^',  without  any  known  contra- 
diction. And  I  confess,  having  so  good  ground  in  scrip- 
ture, it  is  with  me  tantwn  non  articulus  Jidei,  little  less 
than  an  article  of  faith^S' 


27  Myst.  of  Iniq.  p.  410.  28  Vol.  II.  p.  77- 

29  Such  are  TeituUian  and  Irenxus,  Cyril  and  Arethas. 

30  Hieron.  in  Dan.  vii. 

31  See  this  point  proved  at  length  in  Dr.  Cressener's  Appendix  to  his 
Demonst.  of  the  First  Principles  of  the  Prot.  Appl.  of  the  Apoc. 

32  Vol.  II.  p.  899. 

Vol.  II.  B 


10  CHAP.   XX, 

It  Is  to  ch.  vii.  which  contains  the  parallel  vision  of  the 
J^our  symbolic  Beasts^  that  the  attention  of  the  reader  is 
now  solicited.  Here  also  the  same  events  are  predicted, 
and  the  monarchies  both  of  Europe  and  Asia  are  threaten- 
ed. After  giving  a  prophetic  account  of  the  four  first 
Beasts,  Daniel  says  in  v.  7,  Ixvas  seeing  after  this  in  the 
vision^  of  the  nighty  and  behold  a  fourth  Beast  formidable 
and  terrible^  and  strong  exceedingly^  which  had  large  teeth 
of  iron  ;  it  devoured  and  broke  in  pieces^  and  trampled  upon 
the  remains  xvith  its  feet  ^  and  it  was  distinguished  from  all 
the  Beasts  that  were  before  it,  for  it  had  Ten  Horns^^. 
'  The  Ten  Toes  and  the  Ten  Horns,''  says  bp.  Newton, 
*  were  alike  fit  emblems  of  the  Ten  Kingdoms,  which  arose 
out  of- the  division  of  the  Roman  empire^*.'  The  general!- 
ty  of  commentators,  though  they  hesitate  not  to  acknow- 
lege,  that  the  Ten  Horns  signify  the  modern  kingdoms 
seated  in  the  Western  part  of  the  Roman  empire,  yet, 
without  any  reason  which  I  can  discover,  but  a  well-found- 
ed apprehension  of  giving  offence,  think  proper  to  apply  all 
the  former  descriptive  part  of  the  verse  to  Pagan  Rome. 
But  that  they  are  not  authorised  in  this  restricted  applica- 
tion of  it,  an  unprejudiced  inspection  of  the  prophet's  own 
words  will  be  sufficient  to  shew.  The  description  is  alike 
applicable  to  the  general  conduct  of  the  Roman  emperors, 
and  to  that  of  the  Ten  princes  who  have  smce  ruled  over 
the  Western  provinces  of  their  empire  ;  nor  could  the  pro- 
phet, without  departing  from  his  symbol,  have  pourtrayed 
it  in  language  more  strong  and  expressive.  This  emble- 
matic personage  had  large  tron-teeth.  Now  Dr.  Lancaster 
informs  us,  that  '  teeth  are  frequently  used  in  scripture  as 
the  symbols  of  cruelty,  or  of  a  devouring  enemy.'  Its 
stamping  of  the  remains  or  the  residue  with  its  feet  '  al- 
ludes,' says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  to  the  fury  of  wild  beasts,  who 
stamp  upon  that  part  of  their  prey  which  they  cannot  de- 
vour.' And  have  not  the  tyrants  of  Europe  been  equally 
lavish  in  their  expenses ;  equally  violent  in  their  oppressions  ? 

33  This  is  from  the  Improved  Version  of  Mr.  Wintle. 

34  Vol.  I.  p.  496. 


6HAP.  XX.  li 

Of  the  revenues  extorted  by  them  from  their  subjects,  have 
they  not  wasted  much  more  than  they  have  enjoyed  ? 

Having  treated  of  the  Ten  Horns  in  v.  7  and  8,  Da 
niel  immediately  subjoins  in  v.  9  and  10,  /  beheld  till 
the  thrones  -were  cast  down^^^  and  the  Ancient  of  Days 
did  sity  and  the  judgment  was  set^  i.  e.  says  Mr.  Sam. 
Clark,  God  '  did  judge  and  punish  these  tyrannical  em- 
pires, and  delivered  his  people  from  their  oppression.' 
In  v.  9  the  prophet,  speaking  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
says,  his  throne  was  like  the  fiery  fiame^  and  his  rvheels^^ 
as  burning  fire ;  i.  e.  according  to  the  explication  of  the 
same  annotator,  '  the  Revolutions  and  dispensations  of 
his  providence"'  will  be  '  very  destructive  to  the  wicked.' 
Daniel  adds  in  v.  11,  I  xvas  attentive  till  the  Beast  was 
slain^  and  its  body  destroy ed^  and  it  xvas  delivered  up  to  the 
burning  of  fir  e^^.  *  To  kill  or  slayy  says  Dr.  Lancaster, 
*  is  to  be  explained  according  to  the  nature  of  the  subject 
spoken  of;'  and  '  to  kill  a  kingdom  is  to  destroy  utterly  the 
power  it  had  to  act  as  such.'  That  to  burn  with  fire  is  an 
expression  of  similar  import,  there  has  before  been  occa- 
sion to  note.  In  v.  12  the  prophet  announces,  that  con- 
cerning the  rest  of  the  Beasts^  they  had  their  dominion 
taken  away.  *■  Beasts,''  says  Jurieu  on  this  passage,  '  do 
certainly  denote  states  and  empires  ;  so  that  it  seems  as  if 
all  sovereign  power,  i.  e.  Monarchical,  should  be  taken 
away^^'   The  symbols  of  the  prophet  are  indeed  interpret- 

35  To  this  clause  Poole  and  Clark,  bp.  Hall  and  Dr.  Priestley,  ascribe 
without  hesitation  the  obvious  sense  ;  but  the  Hebrew  word,  says  Calvin, 
maybe  translated  thronosfuisse  vel  erectos  veldejectos.  The  expression,  says 
Dr.  Priestley,  clearly  implies  •  violence  in  their  dissolution.'  Fast  Serm. 
for  Feb.  28,  1794,  p.  6. 

36  •  Grotius  observes,  that  the  ancient  thrones  and  selLe  curules  had 
wheels.'     Wintle. 

37  Agreeably  to  this  bp.  Newcome  observes,  in  commenting'  on  the  1st 
ch.  of  Ezekiel,  that  the  <wheels  spoken  of  by  that  prophet,  ♦  are  supposed 
to  express  the  Revolutions  of  God's  providence,  which  are  regular,  though 
they  appear  intricate.' 

38  This  is  from  Mr.  Wintle's  Improved  Version. 

89  Vol.  II.  p.  382.  From  a  comparison  of  this  passage  with  p.  379, 
where  he  declares,  that  the  millennium  will  not  be  a  state  of  anarchy,  but 


12  CHAP.    XX 

ed  for  us  in  this  very  chapter,  as  they  were  apparently 
communicated  to  him  in  his  vision  by  an  angelic  being.  / 
came  near,  says  Daniel,  (v.  16),  unto  one  of  them  that  stood 
by,  and  asked  him  the  truth  of  all  this.  So  he  told  me,  and 
made  me  know  the  interpretation  of  the  thing.  We  are  ac- 
cordingly informed  by  the  angel  of  the  vision,  that  the  Fourth 
Beast,  which  had  Ten  Horns,  shall  be  the  Fourth  Kingdom 
upon  earth,  which  shall  be  diverse  from  all  kingdoms,  and 
shall  devour  the  rvhole  earth,  and  shall  tread  it  down,  and 
break  it  in  pieces;  and  that  the  Ten  Horns  out  of  this  King- 
dom are  Ten  Kings  that  shall  arise'^.  And  in  v.  26  it  is 
added  (the  angel  still  speaks),  But  the  Judgment  shall  sit, 
and  they  shall  take  axvay  his  dominion,  to  consume  and  to 
destroy  it  unto  the  end*^. 

But  who  are  the  rest  of  the  Beasts,  whose  dominion  was 
to  be  taken  away  P  Let  Sir  I.  Newton  inform  us.  In  ex- 
plaining this  passage,  he  observes,  that  '  all  the  four  Beasts 
are  still  alive ;'  and  adds,  that  '  the  nations  of  Chaldea  and 
Assyria  are  still  the  first  Beast.  Those  of  Media  and 
Persia  are  still  the  second  Beast.  Those  of  Macedon, 
Greece,  and  Thrace,  Asia  Minor,  Syria  and  Egypt,  are 
still  the  third**.'     Whilst  the  Hebrew   prophet   declares, 

that  '  there  shall  be  some  to  govern,  and  others  to  odej,'  Jiirieu  appears  to 
have  expected,  that  Republics  would  be  every  where  established. 

40  V.  23  and  24. 

41  With  respect  to  this  verse,  cited  in  a  former  chapter,  it  scarcely 
needs  be  observed,  that  it  manifestly  refers  to  tl>^  Ten  Horns,  as  well  as  to 
the  little  Horn,  of  the  Beast.     See  Breniug. 

42  Obs.  on  Dan.  p.  31.  Another  interpretation,  yet  more  extensive  in 
its  import,  is  noticed  and  explained  by  Mede.  The  expression,  the  rest  of 
the  Beasts,  may,  he  says  (p.  255),  be  understood  as  not  limitted  to  the 
three  first  symbolic  Beasts,  but  as  comprehending'  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world  in  general.  Vau,  rendered  in  our  version,  as  concerning,  he  observes 
jnay  be  translated  also,-  '  also  the  rest  of  the  Beasts,  &c.  As  for  the  word 
Beasts  to  be  taken  here  for  otlier  kingdoms  as  well  as  the  Four  great  ones, 
it  needs  make  no  scruple.  For  we  shall  find  it  so  in  the  next  chapter, 
where  it  is  said  of  the  Medo-Persian  Sam  (verse  4),  that  no  Beasts  might 
stand  before  him,  that  is,  no  State  or  Kingdom  was  able  to  resist  his 
l^ower :  so  here  may  the  rest  of  the  Beasts  be  the  States  and  Kingdoms 
contemporary  with  the  Fourth  Beast.' 


CHAP.  XX.  -  13 

that  the  ten-horned  Beast  xvas  slahi^  he  adds  of  those  other 
emblematic  Beasts  (v.  12),  yet  their  lives  xvere  prolonged 
for  a  season  and  time.  Does  not  this  clause  plainly  enough 
intimate,  that,  after  the  arbitrary*^  monarchies  of  Europe 
shall  have  been  obliterated,  the  despotic  governments  of 
Asia  and  of  Africa,  though  their  existence  will  indeed  be 
prolonged  for  a  ti^ne^  yet  that  they  also  will,  at  length, 
most  assuredly  fall  ?  And  does  not  reason  herself  teach  us, 
that  this  will  probably  happen  ?  Is  it  not  to  be  expected, 
that  political  Liberty  will  be  progressive  in  its  course  ;  and 
that  it  will  flourish  on  the  continent,  and  among  the  islands, 
of  Europe,  before  it  is  transplanted  into  the  warmer  climes 
of  the  old  world,  which  are  less  favorable  to  its  growth  ? 

Though  North  America  stands  at  such  a  distance  from 
the  European  continent,  and  consequently  the  changes 
which  happen  there  must  have  a  very  diminished  influence 
on  this  quarter  of  the  globe  ;  though  it  has  gained  far  less 
by  its  revolution  than  almost  any  nation  on  that  continent 
would  have  done,  because  it  never  bowed  its  neck  under 
the  yoke  of  despotism,  or  an  accumulation  of  taxes,  and 
never  did  an  expensive  court  annoy  its  provinces,  to  serve 
as  a  rallying  point  to  vice  and  conniption,  and  a  center  from 
which  they  might  copiously  flow  ;  it  nevertheless  powerfully 
encouraged  the  authors  of  the  French  Revolution  during 
its  commencement  and  prosecution,  and  threw  a  strong  ray 
of  light  on  the  measures  they  were  to  adopt,  and  the  prin- 
ciples they  were  to  consecrate.  As  soon  as  France  then,  a 
nation  of  such  populousness,  ingenuity,  and  distinguished 
attainments,  seated  as  it  is  in  the  very  center  of  Europe, 
and  possessing  a  language  so  generally  studied,  shall  com- 
pletely have  bafiled  the  efforts  of  the  confederated  princes  ; 
and,  restored  to  internal  order,  shall  begin  to  reap,  in  a 
season  of  tranquillity,  those  golden  fruits,  which  are  the 

43  I  confess,  that  if  I  followed  the  commentators,  I  should  not  restrict 
tliis  destruction  of  monarchies  to  those  which  are  arbitrary,  but  should  say 
the  monarchies  in  general  seated  in  that  part  of  the  world  of  which  the  pro- 
phet speaks.     On  this  point  the  reader  must  judge  for  himself. 


14  CHAP.  XX. 

natural  growth  of  an  equal  government,  representative  in 
its  construction,  and  founded  on  the  rights  of  man ;  is  it 
not  to  be  expected,  that  its  example  will  prove  irresistable, 
and  that  in  no  long  time  it  will  be  followed  by  the  more 
enlightened  of  the  European  nations  ?  The  probability  of 
events  following  each  other  in  this  train,  statesmen  and 
princes  have  not  failed  to  discern  and  to  dread ;  and  they 
act  accordingly. 

That  the  antichristian  monarchies  and  aristocracies  of  the 
world  may  be  demolished,  reason  instructs  us  to  hope,  as 
well  on  account  of  the  oppressor  as  the  oppressed.  To 
raise  men  to  a  giddy  height  of  unjust  power  and  unmerited 
titular  distinction,  is  to  expose  them  to  a  series  of  moral 
dangers,  of  the  most  serious  kind,  and  which  they  cannot 
reasonably  be  expected  to  surmount.  Perceiving  that  their 
vanity  will  be  indulged,  their  wants  supplied,  their  desires 
anticipated,  without  exertion,  without  knowlege,  without 
virtue  ;  they  commonly  slide  insensibly  into  the  ignomi- 
nious lap  of  indolence  ;  and,  dissipating  their  time  in  the 
company  of  the  profligate,  and  in  an  insipid  routine  of 
amusements,  yield  themselves  up  to  the  tyranny  of  passions, 
alike  injurious  to  society  and  to  the  individual.  This  sub- 
ject has  almost  always  been  considered  in  much  too  narrow 
a  point  of  view.  That  this  is  only  the  commencing  stage 
of  our  existence  is  a  truth  which  ought  permanently  to 
impress  our  minds.  It  ought  therefore  to  be  an  anxious 
subject  of  our  enquiry,  what  is  the  state  of  society,  and 
what  is  the  species  of  government,  which  is  best  adapted, 
by  its  influence  on  morals,  to  fit  and  prepare  men  for  a 
future  world.  Now  those  existing  governments,  which 
are  founded  on  oppression,  and  trample  on  the  rights  of 
man,  are  so  fatally  operative  in  the  extinction  of  light  and 
virtue,  that  they  are  decidedly  calculated  to  disqualify  men 
for  a  state  of  future  existence.  Indeed  when  we  advert  to 
the  general  condition  of  mankind,  distributed  as  they  are,  into 
those  who  tyrannise,  and  those  who  are  the  objects  of  tyranny ; 
when  we  reflect,  that  a  numerous  and  distinct  class  of  vices  are 
the  natural  growth  of  each  of  these  situations ;  when  we  thence 


CHAP.    XXI.  15 

collect,  that  the  great  mass  of  human-kind  appear,  in  conse- 
quence of  this,  in  a  great  degree  to  be  incapacitated  for  the 
elevated  employments  of  heaven  and  the  purity  of  its  plea- 
sures, the  overthrow  of  all  such  governments  cannot  but 
strike  the  mind,  as  having  a  degree  of  importance,  which 
it  is  not  in  the  power  of  language  to  express,  or  of  the 
human  understanding  to  calculate.  Hence  also  it  appears 
(and  it  is  an  awful  consideration),  that  he  who  is  instru- 
mental in  perpetuating  a  corrupt  and  wicked  government, 
is  also  instrumental  in  unfitting  his  fellow-men  for  the  feli- 
city of  the  celestial  mansions,  and  in  perhaps  occasioning 
them  to  occupy,  through  all  the  successive  stages  of  their 
future  existence,  a  lower  rank  than  that  to  which  they 
would  otherwise  have  attained. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


ON    THE    NUMBERS    WHICH    OCCUR    IN    DANIEL    AND    ST.    JOHN. 

IN  a  work  like  the  present  it  would  probably  be 
thought  by  many  a  material  omission,  were  no  notice  to  be 
taken  of  the  numbers  which  are  found  in  Daniel  and  St. 
John.  By  the  former  of  these  inspired  writers  we  are  told, 
that  the  little  horn  shall  continue  in  power  for  a  time,  and 
ti?nes,  and  the  dividing  of  time^,  The  latter,  speaking  of 
the  Gentiles,  or  spurious  Christians,  says  (xi.  2),  the  Holy 
City  shall  they  tread  under  foot  4f2  months  ;  and  in  the  foU 
lowing  verse,  that  the  two  xvitnesses  shall  prophecy  a  thou- 
sand two  hundred  and  threescore  days,  clothed  in  sackcloth. 
In  describing  the  ten-horned  Beast,  he  says  (xiii.  5),  that 
power  was  given  unto  him  to  continue  42  months.  In  the 
14th  V.  of  the  xiith  ch.  the  true  church  of  Christ  is  repre- 

1  VII.  25.  '  Among  the  old  prophets,  Daniel  is  most  distinct  in  order 
of  time,  and  easiest  to  be  understood.'  Sir  I.  Newton's  Obser.  on  Dan. 
p.  15. 


16  CHAP.  XXI. 

sented  in  a  {"orlorn  and  persecuted  state,  under  the  emblem 
of  a  woman  fiy'ing  into  the  wilderness^  -where  she  is 
nourished  for  a  time^  and  times  ^  and  half  a  time;  and  in  v. 
6  is  said  to  continue  there  a  thousand  txvo  hundred  and 
threescore  days. 

'  Now  all  these  numbers,'  says  bp.  Newton,  '  you  will 
find  upon  computation  to  be  the  same,  and  each  of  them 
to  signify  1260  years.  For — a  time  all  agree,  signifies  a 
year% — and  a  time,  and  times,  and  the  dividing  of  time,  or 
half  a  tiyne,  are  3  years  and  a  half,  and  3  years  and  a  half 
are  42  months,  and  42  months  are  1260  days,  and  1260 
days  in  the  prophetic  style  are  1260  years.  From  all  these 
dates  and  characters  it  may  fairly  be  concluded,  that  the 
time  of  the  church's  great  affliction,  and  of  the  reign  of 
Antichrist,  will  be  a  period  of  1260  years^' 

That  these  are  definite  numbers,  says  Mede,  is  unques- 
tionable. *  The  scriptures,'  he  observes,  '  use  no  numbers 
indefinitely  but  such  as  the  use  of  speech  in  the  language  of 
the  people  had  made  such.'  And  '  compound  numbers  arc 
never  taken  indefinitely,  either  in  Latin,  Greek,  or  He- 
brew: compound  numbers,  I  mean  those  which  are  com- 
pounded of  units,  tens  and  hundreds,  &c.  those  which  are 
of  heterogeneal  parts  ;  such  as  42,  the  number  of  months  in 
the  Apocalypse;  1260,  the  number  of  days;  three  times 
and  a  half,  which  is  a  number  of  a  fraction*.'  Among  the 
other  circumstances,  says  this  distinguished  commentator, 
which  render  it  evident,  that  days  are  to  be  taken  for  years, 
and  months  for  months  of  years,  is  this  :  the  events  described 
by  the  prophet  are  far  too  numerous,  too  important,  and 
require  far  too  long  a  period,  to  suffer  us  to  suppose,  that 
they  can  be  accomplished  within  the  narrow  limits  of  three 

2  '  By  a  time,  it  is  agreed  by  interpreters,  is  meant  a  year,  by  way  of 
excellence,  as  a  period  the  most  disting-uished.'  Wintle  on  Dan.  vii.  25. 
Thus  when  Daniel  says  of  Nebuchadnezzar  (iv.  16),  let  his  heart  be  chang- 
ed from  tnati's,  and  let  a  beast's  heart  be  given  unto  him:  and  let  seven  tivies 
pass  over  him.;  the  seven  times  signify  seven  years. 

3  Vol.  I.  p.  48S;  vol.  III.  p.  380. 

4  P.  741. 


CBAP.    XXI.  17 

single  years  and  a  half s.  To  prove  that  the  substitution  of 
a  day  for  a  year  was  consonant  to  the  language  of  the  ancient 
Hebrew  prophets,  a  passage  from  Ezekiel  may  be  appealed 
to,  where  he  says*,  thou  shult  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  house 
of  Judah  forty  days :  and  I  have  appointed  thee  each  day 
for  a  year.  In  that  other  famous  prophecy  of  Daniel,  that 
of  the  70  weeks  or  490  days,  they  are,  says  the  learned  Dr. 
Cressener7,  taken  for  so  many  years  '  by  almost  the  unani- 
mous consent  of  all  interpreters.'  '  Since  we  can,'  says  the 
excellent  Mr.  Whiston,  in  this  prophecy  of  the  Seventy 
Weeks  '  positively  appeal  to  the  event  on  our  side,  and 
allege  the  exact  fulfilling  of  the  ancient  prophecies  in  this 
sense  of  days  for  years ;— there  can  remain  no  reasonable 
doubt  in  the  case^.' 

With  respect  to  the  time,  when  the  1260  years  com- 
menced^ and  consequently  when  they  shall  terminate,  I 
venture  to  advance  nothing  of  my  own,  nor  place  my  con- 
fidence in  the  calculations  of  others.  But  as  some  of  my 
readers  will  be  likely  to  enquire,  whether  no  dates,  appa- 
rently in  unison  with  fact  and  probability,  have  been  as- 
signed for  the  commencement  and  for  the  conclusion  of  the 
1260  years  ;  and  as  I  am  unwilling  altogether  to  disappoint 
them,  and  to  leave  those  who  have  not  before  made  any 
enquiries  on  the  subject  totally  uninformed  upon  it,  I  shall 
state  the  two  seras,  which  have  been  specified  by  Mr.  Bi- 
cheno,  the  writer  of  a  sensible  pamphlet  before  referred 
to  ;  and  shall  allege  some  of  the  reasons  which  may  be  ad- 
vanced in  favor  of  them. 

To  prepare  the  reader  for  what  follows,  a  short  quota- 
tion from  Mr.  Whiston  shall,  however,  be  p4:eviously  given. 
At  the  expiration  of  the  1260  years  '  there  is  to  be  a  Great 

5  P.  742,  743.     See  another  reason  in  p.  131.  6  IV.  6. 

7  Dem.  of  the  Prot.  Appl.  of  the  Apoc.  170. 

8  P.  17.  '  The  way  of  counting  by  weeks  of  years  seems,'  says  bp 
Chandler,  (Def.  of  Chr.  p.  112),  '  to  have  been  used  by  the  ancients. 
Varro,  at  the  time  of  writing  his  book  inscribed  Hebdomades,  saith,  he 
was  entered  in  the  12th  week  of  (his)  years,  i.  e.  his  78th  year.  Aul< 
Gell.  Noct,  Att.  iii.  10.' 

Vol.  II.  g 


I{«  CHAP.  XXI. 

Earthquake  (Apoc.  xi.  13;  ;  the  to  Ji*«7«»  of  the  City  is  to 
fall;  in  that  Earthquake  7000  names  of  men  are  to  be 
slain : — and  soon  after  the   seventh  angel  is  to  sound  the 
great  trumpet,  for  the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  for 
pouring  out  of  the  seven  vials  or  last  plagues  upon  the 
Beast's  kingdom,  in  order  to  its  utter  ruin  and  destruction 
for  ever^'     In  agreement  with  this  statement,  Mr.  Bicheno 
supposes,  that  the  conclusion  of  the   1260  years  and  the 
symbolic  earthquake  in  the  Tenth  Part  of  the  city  are  con- 
temporaneous ;  and  consequently,  since  the  symbolic  earth- 
quake, or  French  revolution,  predicted  by  St.  John  in  ch, 
y\.  did  actually  take  place  \n  xYit  ye?iv  1789,  that  the    1260 
years  terminated  at  that  memorable  epoch.     It  cannot  be 
denied,  that  it  is  a  circumstance  in  favor  of  this  method 
of  calculating  them,  that  the  period  specified  corresponds 
with  the  idea,  which  learned  men  had  previously  formed 
of  the  1260  years.     Many  have  supposed,  that  this  is  the 
period  during  which  antichristian  tyranny  over  the  persons 
and  the  consciences  of  men  was  destined  especially  to  pre- 
vail, and  to  remain  almost  unchecked.     It  was  not  imme- 
diately upon  the  expiration  of  these  years,  that  its  over- 
throw was  to  be  accomplished.     But  as  it  was  exerted  to  a 
considerable  extent,  antecedently  to  the  commencement  of 
that  period,  so  likeAvise   for  some  time  subsequent  to  it, 
this  antichristian  system  of  oppression  was  to  subsist,  but 
without  its  wonted  firmness,  its  pristine  stability,  and  that 
servility  of  acquiescence,  with   which   its  measures   had 
been  heretofore  submitted  to  throughout  the  countries  of 
Europe.     At  the  conclusion  of  this  period  it  was  to  receive 
some  mighty  shock.     And  do  not  the  events  of  the  French 
revolution,  and  the  effects  it  has  already  produced,  admi- 
rably correspond  with  these  pre-conceived  notions  ?  Have 
not  the  interests   of  the  papacy  and  of  ecclesiastical  ty- 
ranny, as  well  as  of  civiUdespotism,  in  consequence  of  that 
revolution,  received  such  a  fatal  wound  as  will  never  be 
healed  ? 

P.  271. 


CHAP.    XXI.  I§ 

But  if  the  year  1789,  the  jera  of  the  French  revolution, 
be  thought  to  be  an  epoch  singularly  suitable  for  the  con- 
clusion of  the  1260  years:  the  next  enquiry  is,  whether  on 
the  year,  and  about  the  time,  when  that  period  commenced^ 
means  were  adopted  to  promote,  confirm,  and  extend  the 
tyranny  of  princes  and  of  priests  over  the  faith  and  con- 
sciences of  men.  I  now  transcribe  a  part  of  what  Mr, 
Bicheno  has  urged  to  prove,  that  in  the  year  529  this  did 
actually  happen  ;  and  the  reader  with  a  glance  of  his  eye 
will  perceive,  that  there  elapsed  from  the  year  529  to  1789 
exactly  1260  years.  In  the  year  529,  '  the  Justinian  Code 
was  first  published'",  by  which  those  powers,  privileges,  and 
immunities  were  secured  to  the  clergy ;  that  union  per- 
fected between  things  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  and  those 
laws  imposed  on  the  church,  which  have  proved  so  inju- 
rious to  Christianity,  and  so  calamitous  to  mankind.  And 
which  code,  through  the  zeal  of  the  clergy,  has  been  re- 
ceived, more  or  less,  as  the  foundation  of  the  jurispru- 
dence of  almost  every  state  in  Christendom  ;  and  that  not 
only  in  things  civily  but  ecclesiastical.'  It  was  also  in  the 
year  529,  that  '  a  new  order  of  monks,  which  in  a  manner 
absorbed  all  the  others  established  in  the  West,  was  insti- 
tuted by  Benedict  of  Nursia. — This  and  othex  monastic 
orders  (sinks  of  ignorance,  indolence,  and  vice !)  were  the 
fountains,  from  whence  issued  all  sorts  of  abominations, 
and  the  rivers  which  carried  superstition,  oppression,  and 
violence  to  all  parts  of  the  earth".'  Of  the  corrupt  opi- 
nions and  antichristian  practices,  which  prevailed  at  this 
period,  ample  memorials  may  be  found  in  Mosheim  j  Avho 
observes  with  respect  to  the  Benedictines,  that  they  '  la- 
bored most  ardently  to  swell  the  arrogance,  b)^  enlarging 


10  The  following  are  the  words  of  cardinal  Baronius,  in  his  account  of 
the  year  529,  hoc  eodein  anno  idein  y-ustinianus  Iinperator,  que7n  dedcrat  col' 
iigendum  emendanduinque  codicem  suo  nomine  ynstinianewm  appellatum,  (fbr 
colutuin  conjirniavit,  vulgavitque. 

11  Signs  of  the  Times,  p.  61. 


20  CHAP.  XXI. 

the  power  and  authority,  of  the  Roman  pontiff'*.'  How 
highly  favorable  the  founding  of  the  Benedictine  order 
was  to  the  aggrandisement  of  the  priesthood  and  pontifi- 
cate, some  idea  may  be  formed  from  an  observation  of  the 
lofty  language  and  the  exulting  tone,  with  which  Baronius 
has  spoken  of  it  in  his  account  of  the  year  529.  On  the 
code  of  Justinian,  and  on  the  conduct  of  the  emperor  who 
promulgated  it,  I  shall  not  harrass  the  attention  of  the 
reader  by  the  multiplication  of  extracts.  One  passage, 
however,  and  that  a  sufficiently  long  one,  shall  on  this  sub- 
ject be  cited  from  a  writer  of  the  last  century,  who  was 
accurately  acquainted  with  ecclesiastical  history.  It  is 
from  an  apocalyptical  work  of  Dr.  Cressener,  and  from  a 
chapter  wherein  he  is  professedly  treating  on  '■  the  first 
d^te  of  the  rise  of  the  Beast,'  that  the  passage  is  taken. 
Antecedently  to  the  quotation  of  it,  it  may  be  proper  to 
inform  the  reader,  that  Justinian  was  raised  to  the  impe- 
rial throne  in  the  year  527.  In  the  beginning  of  his  reign, 
says  Dr.  Cressener,  Justinian  publishes  an  edict  concern- 
ing his  faith,  wherein  he  '  threatens  all  who  should  dissent 
from  it,  that  they  should  have  no  manner  of  indulgence  ; 
and  tkat,  upon  the  discovery  of  them,  they  should  suffer 
the  law  as  pvofessed  heretics,  which  was  to  be  banished  the 
Roman  territ^orits,  and  which  was  never  executed  upon 
the  generality  of  dissenters  before.  And  here  does  his 
faith  appear  to  be  made  the  tuk  and  measure  of  orthodoxy 
to  the  whole  empire,  upon  a  penalty  which  had  terror 
enough  in  it.  This  faith  he  sends  to  pope  John  for  his 
concurrence  with  him  in  it ;  and  tells  him,  "  that  he  did  it 
to  conform  all  to  the  church  of  Rome  j  that  it  was  always  his 

desire  to  preserve  the  unity  of  the  apostolic  see  j" and 

for  that  purpose  "  to  bring  all  the  Eastern  churches  under 
his  subjection,  and  to  unite  them  to  the  see  of  his  Holi- 
ness.''    Pope  John's  answer  to  him  does  repeat  the  same 


12  Eccl,  Hist.  vol.  I.  p.  448.  It  was  also  in  the  year  529,  that  the  pre- 
^ates  who  met  in  the  second  council  of  Vasio  endeavored  to  augment  the 
fiuthority  of  the  Holy  See,  commanding  that  the  name  of  the  Roman  Pon. 
^iff  should  be  recited  in  their  respective  churches- 


CHAP.  XXI.  ,  21 

thing  out  of  his  letter,  with  great  thanks  to  him,  as,  that 
he  did  preserve  the  faith  of  the  Roman  church,  and  did 
bring  all  else  under  the  subjection  of  it,  and  did  draw  them 
into  the  unity  of  it.  Therein  also  does  Justinian  expressly 
call  the  church  of  Rome  the  Head  of  all  Churches^  and  de- 
sires a  rule  of  faith  for  the  bishops  of  the  East.  The  popti 
on  the  other  side  confirms  the  emperor's  faith  to  be  the 
only  true  faith^  and  that  which  the  Roman  church  did  al- 
wa5's  hold. — All  this  intercourse  betwixt  the  pope  and  the 
emperor  is  inserted  into  the  code  of  the  Imperial  law,  as 
the  standard  and  rule  for  all  to  conform  to,  under  the  pe- 
nalty to  be  judged  to  be  heretics. — Though  the  emperor's 
faith  should  be  accounted  orthodox,  yet  the  inducing  such 
a  new  penalty,  which  should  force  it  upon  the  consciences 
of  all  men,  as  so  necessary  to  salvation,  that  a  man  could 
not  possibly  be  a  member  of  the  catholic  church  without 
the  profession  of  it,  was  certainly  unwarrantable,  and  the 
first  beginning  of  that  tyrannising  power  in  the  Roman 
church,  which  made  the  whole  world  to  conform  to  all  its 
arbitrary  decrees,  and  to  worship  it  with  a  blind  obedience 
to  all  its  most  unreasonable  commands.'  Among  the  ex- 
travagant commands  of  Justinian  one  was,  that  all  such 
should  be  anathematised,  '  ivho  did  not  damn  all  those  whom 
they  called  heretics :  which  certainly  was  one  of  the  highest 
acts  of  tyranny  over  the  consciences  of  the  universal  church, 
and  which  of  all  their  injunctions  was  the  most  difficult  to 
subscribe  unto'^' 

But  probably  there  may  be  some  persons,  who  may 
think,  that  the  commencement  of  the  1260  years  had  bet- 
ter be  dated  from  the  year  547  than  from  the  year  529  ; 
nartly  because  Justinian's  tyrannic  proceedings  in  his  ma- 
nagement of  councils,  in  his  persecution  of  heretics,  and 
in  his  endeavors  to  bring  about  a  uniformity  of  faith  through- 
out the  Roman  empire,  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  been 
carried  nearly  to  their  full  extent  earlier  than  that  year'*  ; 


13  Dem.  of  the  Prot.  Appl.  of  tlie  Apoc.  p.  306. 

14  See  Cressener,  ut  supra  p.  307—312.     Justinian,  says  the  Jesuit  Pe- 
tavius,  innumerabilibus  eclictls  Catliolicx  fidci  et  ecclesiastic ae  discipUnjc. 


32  CHAP.    XXI, 

and  partly  because  they  may  be  of  opinion  with  Dr.  Cres- 
sener  and  other  writers,  that  in  this  calculation  18  years 
are  to  be  deducted  from  the  1260'^,  since  1260  apocalyp- 
tic years,  each  consisting  only  of  360  days,  amount  to  no 
more  than  1242  solar  or  Julian  years'^ 

Some  quotations  shall  now  be  added,  which  may  serve 
to  illustrate  the  opinion,  that  St.  John  by  no  means  meant 
to  intimate,  that  the  conclusion  of  the  1260  years  would 
be  the  epoch  of  the  complete  overthrow  of  civil  or  of  spiri- 
tual tyranny.  During  the  1260  years,  says  bp.  Newton, 
'  the  holij  city^  the  true  church  of  Christ,  was  to  be  trodden 
under  foot^  which  is  the  lowest  state  of  subjection  j  the  two 
tvitnesses  were  not  only  to  prophecy^  but  to  prophecy  in 
sackcloth^  that  is  in  mourning  and  affliction ;  the  xuoman^ 
the  church,  was  to  abide  in  the  wilderness^  that  is  in  a  for- 
lorn and  desolate  condition  ;  and  poxver  ivas  given  to  the 
Beast  -TToiYio-cti  '^,  not  merely  to  continue^  as  it  is  translated, 
but  to  practise^  and  prosper^  and  to  do  according  to  his 
will'*. — It  doth  not  therefore  follow,  that  the  Beast  is  to 

consulult.  Eationarium  Tewi/)oru7n,  p.  i.  1.  vii.  c.  v.  This  celebrated  emperor 
was  an  unfeeling  bigot.  '  The  reign  of  Justinian,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  vfv^s 
an  unifoi'm,  }et  various  scene  of  persecution  ;  and  he  appears  to  have  sur- 
passed Ifis^indolent  predecessors,  both  in  the  contrivance  of  his  laws  and 
the  rigor  of  their  execution.'  To  the  Samai'itans  of  Palestine  he  '  offered 
only  the  alternative  of  baptism  or  rebellion. — It  has  been  computed  that 
100,000  Roman  subjects  were  extirpated  in  the  Samaritan  war,  whicli 
converted  the  once-fruitful  province  into  a  desolate  and  smoaking  wilder- 
ness. But,  in  the  creed  of  Justinian,  the  guilt  of  murder  coiald  not  be 
applied  to  the  slaughter  of  unbelievers  ;  and  he  piously  labored  to  esta- 
bUsh  with  fii-e  and  sword  the  unity  of  the  Christian  faith.'  Decl.  and  Fall 
of  the  Rom.  Emp.  vol.  VIII.  p.  320,  323,  324.  On  Mr.  Gibbon's  inaccu- 
rate use  of  the  word  pious  (as  it  is  an  inaccuracy  of  which  he  is  fond)  I 
might  here  expatiate,  were  this  a  work  adapted  for  such  a  discussion. 
15  547 

1242 

1789 

16  See  Cressener  ut  supra,  p.  238, 239  ;  and  Fleming's  Discourse  on  the 
Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Papacy,  p.  24 — 26. 

17  XIII.  5. 

18  See  the  word  explained  In  the  same  way  by  Vitriqg^ 


CHAP.  XXI.  23 

continue^  to  exist,  for  no  longer  a  time'^'  Though  the 
power  of  princes  and  of  priests  over  the  persons  and  the 
consciences  of  men  was  to  decline  at  the  termination  of  the 
1260  years,  and  was  speedily  to  fall  into  a  weak  and  shat- 
tered state  ,  it  is  not  therefore  to  be  concluded,  that  at 
this  epoch  their  authority  was  all  at  once  to  be  overthrown, 
and  their  oppressions  were  to  cease  in  all  the  streets  of  the 
symbolic  city.  '  Nothing,'  says  the  bp.  of  Worcester, 
'  has  been  more  censured  in  protestant  divines,  than  their 
temerity  in  fixing  the  fall  of  Antichrist ;  though  there  are 
certain  data  in  the  prophecies,  from  which  very  probable 
conclusions  on  that  subject  may  be  drawn.  Experience,  it 
is  said,  contradicts  this  calculation.  But  it  is  not  consi- 
dered, that  the  fall  of  Antichrist  is  not  a  single  event,  to 
happen  all  once  ;  but  a  state  of  things,  to  continue  through 
a  long  tract  of  time,  and  to  be  gradually  accomplished — 
Suppose  the  ruin  of  the  Western  empire  had  been  the  sub- 
ject of  a  prediction,  and  some  had  collected  before  hand 
from  the  terms  of  the  prophecy,  that  it  would  happen  at  a 
particular  time ;  when  yet  nothing  more,  in  fact,  came  to 
pass,  than  the  first  irruption  of  the  barbarous  nations  ; 
would  it  be  certain  that  this  collection  was  groundless  and 
ill  made,  because  the  empire  subsisted  in  a  good  degree  of 
vigor  for  some  centuries  after  ?  Might  it  not  be  said,  that 
the  empire  ivas  falling  from  that  sera,  or  perhaps  before  ; 
though,  in  the  event,  it  fell  not,  till  its  sovereignty  was 
shaken  by  the  rude  hands  of  Attila,  or  rather,  till  it  was 
laid  flat  by  the  well-directed  force  of  Theodoric^°  ?'  '  At  the 

19  Vol.  III.  p.  214,  382.  See  similar  observations  in  the  Evid.  of  Nat. 
and  Rev.  Bel.  by  Dr.  Clarke,  p.  432. 

20  Vol.  II.  p.  71.  And  though  nothing  more  came  to  pass  in  the  j  ear 
1789  than  the  French  Revolution  ;  would  it  be  certain  that  the  fall  of  An- 
tichrist might  »ot  be  dated  from  that  year,  and  that  such  an  inference  was 
groundless  and  ill  made,  because  the  antichristian  empire  subsisted  in  a 
good  degree  of  vigor  for  some  yeai's  after  ?  Might  it  not  be  said,  that  tlie 
empire  vias  falling  from  that  sra,  or  perhaps  before  ;  tliough,  in  the  event. 

It  fell  not,  till  its  sovereignty  was  shaken  by , 

or  rather,  till  it  was  laid  flat  by .' 

Here  are  chasms  in  the  sentence,  which  our  ignorance  of  futurity  renders 
necessary,  and  which  must  be  filled  up  at  a  future  time. 


24  CHAP.  XXI> 

close  of  the  1260  years,'  says  the  author  of  an  Essay  oil 
the  Numbers  of  Daniel  and  John,  '  the  Beast  was  to  meet 
with  a  visible  check  to  his  power^'.'  The  Beast  will  not 
be  destroyed,  says  Durham,  at  the  expiration  of  the  1260 
years  ;  but,  to  use  this  early  commentator's  own  words,  his 
power  will  be  clipped,  and  his  authority  shaken".  The 
seventh  trumpet,  says  Mr.  Whiston,  which  has  the  vials  for 
its  contents,  is  not  to  commence  till  after  the  1260  years 
are  expired  ;  so  that  the  1260  years  bring  to  a  conclusion 
dnly  the  '  Prevailing  Tyranny  of  the  Beast. — But  the  end 
or  destruction  of  the  Beast  himself  will  not  take  place 
*  till  the  end  of  the  same  trumpet,  or  the  conclusion  of  the 
vials^^.'  To  the  same  purpose  speaks  Dr.  More.  '  That 
the  reign  of  the  Beast  does  not  end  with  the  sixth  trumpet' 
is,,  says  this  learned  writer,  '  a  thing  I  do  easily  grant ; 
but  yet  in  the  mean  time,  I  contend  that  the  fulfilling  of 
his  42  months  is  at  the  exitus  of  the  sixth  trumpet,  which 
"respects  the  duration  of  the  entireness  thereof;  which  en- 
tireness  was  broken  at  the  rising  of  the  rvitnesses. — Unless 
the  affairs  of  Europe  should  break  of  a  sudden,  as,  Olaus 
says,  the  frozen  ocean  does,  and  then  immediately  sinks 
(which  is  a  miracle  above  belief),  I  see  no  probability  at 
all  of  any  other  sense  of  the  stinting  the  reign  of  the  Beast 
to  42  months  than  I  have  already  declared**.' 

Now  some  probably  may  be  of  opinion,  that  the  affairs 
of  Europe  have  suddenly  broken,  and  taken  a  new  direc- 
tion ;  and  that  a  mighty  change  will  be  effected  in  the  cir- 
cumstances of  mankind  by  means  of  the  revolution  of 
France,  by  the  spread  of  its  principles  and  the  progress  of 
its  arms.  They  may  also  not  unreasonably  conclude,  that, 
in  this  quarter  of  the  world,  the  wheels  of  the  existing  fa- 
brics of  government,  complex  as  they  are  in  their  original 
construction,  injured  by  the  rust  of  age,  often  impeded  by 
the  collision  of  jarring  interests,  and  every  where  clogged 

21  Burton's  Ess.  on  the  Numbers  of  Dan.  and  John,  1766,  p.  263. 

22  P.  553.  23  P.  88,  89. 

24  On  the  Apoc.  p.  263  ;  and  Myst.  of  Iniq.  p.  380. 


CHAP.  ±Xi.  25 

by  the  interference  of  superfluous  weights,  will  in  a  short 
time  be  stopped  by  the  obstructions  which  will  be  thrown 
in  their  way  ;  and  that  those,  who  have  hitherto  regulated 
their  movements,  will  cease  to  direct  them,  or  to  put  in 
motion  those  engines  of  oppression,  in  the  management  of 
which  they  now  discover  so  much  expertness,  as  they  will 
be  driven  from  their  posts,  covered  w'lik  disgrace,  and  de- 
pressed by  disappointment.  The  People,  they  may  expect, 
will  hereafter  be  the  great  First  Moving  Cause  that  shall 
actuate  the  machine  of  government ;  and  the  agents,  whom 
they  shall  appoint,  will  determine  on  the  specific  mode  on 
which  it  shall  be  constructed,  and  adjust  and  superintend 
its  several  operations,  however  numerous  or  complicated. 
The  change  in  the  political  world,  already  accomplished 
in  France,  some  perhaps  may  conceive,  is  equal  in  point 
of  greatness,  in  point  of  rapidity,  in  point  of  benefit,  to 
the  most  striking  change  which  the  natural  world  can  pro- 
duce. With  respect  also  to  some  of  those  lofty  edifices  of 
power,  which  are  scattered  over  the  surface  of  the  Euro- 
pean continent,  it  will  perhaps  be  thought,  that  the  rapi- 
dity with  which  these  unwieldy  fabrics,  though  they  have 
subsisted  during  the  revolution  of  centuries,  and  to  the  su- 
perficial observer  appeared  possessed  of  strength  which 
nothing  could  overpower  or  shatter,  shall  sink  and  break  in 
pieces,  in  consequence  of  that  alteration  of  sentiment  which 
shall  prevail,  and  that  ardor  of  patriotism  which  shall  be 
kindled,  may  not  unaptly  be  compared  to  the  suddenness, 
with  which  a  vast  sea  of  ice,  that  before  exhibited  a  pros- 
pect the  most  dreary  and  comfortless,  is  subdued  by  thaw, 
and  all  its  different  compartments,  on  the  change  of  weather 
and  the  kindly  approach  of  summer,  melt  and  disappear; 
notwithstanding  that  sea  has  been  so  frozen  by  a  northern 
winter,  as  to  have  lasted  a  long  succession  of  weeks,  and 
notwithstanding  it  appeared  to  the  eye  of  the  uninformed, 
too  firm  to  be  broken,  and  too  hard  to  be  dissolved. 

I  now  proceed  to  take  some  notice  of  the  numbers  which 
jDccur  inthexiith  ch.  of  Daniel;  and   as  this   concluding 

Vol.  II.  D 


26  CHAP.    XXI. 

chapter  of  the  Hebrew  prophet  is  short  and  a  very  remark- 
able one,  I  shall  embrace  this  opportunity  of  quoting  the 
greater  part  of  it,  and  of  introducing  a  few  extracts  in 
illustration  of  it.  '  The  prophecies  of  Daniel,'  says  Sir  I. 
Newton,  '  are  all  of  them  related  to  one  another,  as  if  they 
were  but  several  parts  of  one  general  prophecy,  given  at 
several  times*^'  In  agreement  with  this  remark,  it  has 
been  concluded,  that  his  predictions  in  ch.  xii.  have  a  rela- 
tion to  whsLt  he  has  elsewhere  foretold  with  respect  to  the 
expiring  of  persecution,  the  destruction  of  the  antichristian 
monarchies,  and  the  subsequent  reign  of  genuine  Christi- 
anity in  the  world. 

In  V.  4  it  is  said,  but  thou,  0  Daniel,  shut  up  the  xvords, 
and  seal  the  hook,  even  to  the  time  of  the  end:  many  shall 
?-un  to  and  fro,  and  knowlege  shall  be  increased.  '  To 
shut  up  a  book,'  says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  and  to  seal  it,  is  the 
same  with  concealing  the  sense  of  it, — as  hath  been  ob- 
served upon  ch.  viii.  25.  And  the  same  reason  is  assigned 
in  both  places  for  this  command,  viz.  because  there  would 
be  a  long  interval  of  time  between  the  date  of  the  prophecy, 
and  the  final  accomplishment  of  it. — -But  the  nearer  that 
time  approached,  the  more  light  should  men  have  for  un- 
derstanding the  prophecy  itself ;  as  is  implied  in  the  fol- 
lowing Avords.  Many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowlege 
shall  be  increased.  Many  shall  be  inquisitive  after  truth, 
and  keep  correspondence  with  others  for  their  better  infor- 
mation :  and  the  gradual  completion  of  this  and  other  pro- 
phecies shall  direct  observing  readers  to  form  a  judgment 
concerning  those  particulars  which  are  yet  to  be  fulfilled.' 
But  the  latter  words,  though  they  may  be  admitted  to  have 
a  peculiar  reference  to  prophetic  knowlege,  may  also  be  rea- 
sonably thought  to  refer  to  the  augmentation  of  knowlege 
in  general.  But  what  is  the  tiyne  of  the  end  ?  In  its  strict 
rnd  proper  sense,  says  an  intelligent  commentator  on  Da- 
niel, it  '  is  that  time,  wherein  the  yeai"s  of  Antichrist  are 
finished'^'     Though  the  nature  of  the  wonders  foretold  in 

25  P.  24.  '26  Parker  on  D?.n  p.  122, 


C'HAP.  xxi.  2f 

this  book  of  prophecy  was  thus  imperfectly  revealed  to  Da- 
niel, somewhat  was  communicated  to  him  relative  to  the 
period  of  their  accomplishment.  For  one  of  the  angels  of 
the  vision  is  represented  in  v.  6  as  saying  unto  another  an- 
gel, in  the  presence  of  Daniel,  and  for  his  information, 
how  long-  shall  it  be  to  the  end  of  these  xvonders?  And^  says 
Daniel  (v.  7 — 12),  I  heard  the  man  clothed  in  linen,  which 
zvas  upon  the  xvaters  of  the  river,  when  he  held  up  his  right 
hand  and  his  left  hand  unto  heaven,  and  sware  by  him  that 
liveth  for  ever,  that  it  shall  he  for  a  time,  times,  and  an 
half ;  and  -when  he  shall  have  accomplished  to  scatter  the 
power  of  the  holy  people,  all  these  things  shall  he  fnished„ 
And  I  heard,  but  I  understood  not :  then  said  I,  Omy  Lord, 
what  shall  be  the  end  of  these  things  P-  And  he  said,  go  thy 
Way,  Daniel :  for  the  xvords  are  closed  up  and  sealed  till 
the  time  of  the  end.  Many  shall  he  purifed,  and  made  ivhite, 
and  tried  ;  but  the  wicked  shall  do  xvickedly  :  and  none  of  the 
xvicked  shall  under  stand :  hut  the  xvisc  shall  under  stand.  And 
from  the  time  that  the  daily  sacrifice  shall  he  taken  away, 
and  the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate  set  up,  there  shall 
he  a  thousand  txvo  hundred  and  ninety  days.  Blessed  is 
he  that  xvaiteth,  and  cometh  to  the  thousand  three  hundred 
and  five  and  thirty  days. 

The  period  here  specified  by  Daniel,  a  time,  times,  and 
an  half,  signifies,  says  Mede,  the  1260  years  during  which 
the  ten-horned  Beast  was  to  reign'^.  The  extract  which 
follows  is  from  the  paraphrase  of  Dr.  Wells.  And  I  heard 
the  angel  sxvear  by  Him,  '  that  lives  for  ever  and  ever,  that 
it  shall  he  for  a  time,  times,  and  an  half  of  time,  i.  e.  the 
said  wonderful  things  are  not  to  be  accomplished,  till  the 
expiration  or  end  of  that  portion  of  time  of  the  Fourth 
Kingdom,  during  which  (accordingto  what  was  made  known 
unto  Daniel  in  a  former  vision,  viz.  ch.  vii.  25)  the  little 
horn  shall  xvear  out  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  and  they 
shall  be  given  into  his  hand.^  As  the  words,  repeatedly 
employed  by  Daniel  in  ch.  vii.  the  saints  of  the  Most  High, 

?7  p.  8S5, 


28  CHAP.  XXI^ 

are  most  certainly  not  tO'be  understood  of  the  Jews,  but  of 
genuine  Christians  ;  so  in  like  manner  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  that  that  kindred  expression,  the  holy  people.,  has 
in  ch.  xii.  exactly  the  same  signification^*.  The  clause 
containing  these  words  Waple^'  endeavors  to  illustrate  b) 
referring  to  a  passage  in  the  Apocalypse.  By  the  '  accom- 
pltshment  of  the  scatterings  or  dispersion  of  the  poxver  of 
the  holy  people  can,'  he  says,  *-  be  meant  no  other  than  the 
woman's  coming  out  of  the  rvilderness^^^  where  the  holy 
people  were  dispersed  and  scattered.'  But  I  do  not  con- 
ceive, that  the  prophet's  words  oblige  us  to  conclude,  that 
genuine  Christians  will  cease  to  be  oppressed,  immediately 
at  the  expiration  of  the  1260  years.  When  he  says,  that  it 
shall  be  for  a  time^  times^  and  an  half;  and  that  luhen  he 
shall  have  accomplished  to  scatter  the  power  of  the  holy  peo- 
ple^ all  these  things  shall  be  finished ;  the  meaning  may  be, 
that  it  is,  for  the  1260  years,  that  the  whole  body  of  true 
Christians  shall  be  principally  exposed  to  the  attacks  of 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  tyranny  ;  and  that  some  time  after- 
wards, when  the  period  of  their  being  in  a  dispersed  and 
precarious  and  persecuted  state  shall  be  completely  accom- 

28  That  the  holy  people.  In  ch.  xii.  v.  7  of  Dan.  is  to  be  unders.tood  of  ge- 
nuine Christians,  tlie  learned  Dr.  Goodwin  conceivedto  be  unquestionable, 
p.  185.  '  The  Christians  may,'  says  bp.  Newton  (on  Dan.  vol.  II.  p.  48), 
•  full  as  well  as  the  Jews  be  ccmprehended  under  the  name  of  the  holy 
people'  By  '  the  holy  people,'  says  a  leai-ned  writer,  who  was  quoted  in 
the  last  chapter,  and  whose  signature  is  Synergus  fCowment.  and  Ess.  p. 
481),  *  I  understand  the  Christians  distinguished  by  that  general  title  from 
the  rest  of  the  world,  without  any  regard  to  their  moral  character,  or  any 
thing  besides  their  outw^oi'd  profession.'  Thus  it  appears,  that  the  appel- 
lation of  the  holy  people,  wdth  respect  to  extent  of  import,  is  differently 
understood  by  different  writers. 

29  On  Rev.  x.  7. 

30  It  is  in  ch.  xii.  v.  6  of  the  Rev.  that  the  symbolic  v/oman  is  repre- 
sented as  ♦  flying  into  a  wilderness,'  (I  am  now  quoting  from  Mr.  Low- 
man,)  •  to  intimate,  the  condition  of  the  church  would  be  difficult  and 
dangei'ous  in  these  times,  like  the  Israelites,  when  they  wandered  in  thti 
wilderness.'  '  The  wilderness  into  which  she  fled  intimates,'  says  a  fo- 
reign writer,  '  the  church's  obsciu-ity,  poverty,  and  distress.'  Neiv  Synt 
of  Jpoc.  p.  60. 


*.^ 


CHAP.  XXI.  29 

plished,  then  that  all  the  principal  events  foretold  by  Da- 
niel shall  be  finished.  I  shall  shortly  have  occasion  to  in- 
troduce a  quotation  fi^om  St.  John,  wherein  he  has  mani- 
festly copied  from  the  7th  v.  of  the  xiith  ch.  of  Daniel,  at 
the  very  time  when  he  is  speaking  of  the  seventh  trumpet 
and*  the  destruction  of  the  antichristian  empire^'.  Here 
then  the  reader  will  be  furnished  with  a  new  reason  for 
concluding,  that  each  of  the  prophets  is  speaking  of  the 
sam.e  period  and  the  same  events. 

3fany^  says  Daniel,  shall  be  purified^  and  made  xvhite^ 
and  tried,  '  The  persecutions  of  the  faithful,'  says  Mr. 
Lowth,  '  are  designed  for  the  trial  of  their  faith,  and  pu- 
rifying their  lives.'  And  from  the  time  that  the  daily  sacri- 
Jice  shall  be  taken  azvai/y  and  the  abominatio7i  that  maketh 
desolate  set  up^  there  shall  be  a  thousand  two  hundred  and 
ninety  days.  That  this  computation  cannot  refer  to  the 
desolate  state  of  Jerusalem  and  the  profanation  of  its  tem- 
ple, appears  evident,  because  a  much  longer  period  than 
1290  years  has  elapsed,  since  the  city  and  the  temple  were 
exposed  to  the  insults  of  Antiochus,  or  Titus,  or  Hadrian. 

*  The  same  expressions,'  says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  made  use  of  to 
describe  Antiochus's  persecution,  chap.  xi.  31,  are  here- 
applied  to  the  desolations  made  by  Antichrist,  of  which  the 
former  was  a  figure.'  Mr.  Wintle,  to  whom  the  public  are 
indebted  for  a  New  Translation  of  Daniel,  observes,  that 

*  the  language  is  borrowed  from  the  service  of  the  Jewish 
temple,  and  applicable  to  the  church  of  God  in  a  variety  of 
states  and  forms  :  that  it  is  here  particularly  meant  to  have 
its  illustration  during  the  times  of  the  Christian  church 
viust^  says  Mr.  Wintle,  '  be  evident,  not  only  from  the 
whole  series  of  the  foregoing  remarks,  but  because  the 
days  cannot  be  taken  in  their  strict  sense,  but  must  be  un- 
derstood for  so  many  years.'  '  The  setting  up  of  the  abo- 
mination of  desolation^  bp.  Newton  in  like  manner  remarks, 

31  See  tlie  note  from  Vitringa.  at  the  bottom  of  p.  266. 


30  CHAP.   XXI4 

is  '  a  general  phrase^^'  To  set  up  the  abomination  that 
maketh  desolate,  says  Mr.  Parker,  is  to  establish  '  anti- 
christian  idolatries  and  superstitions,  corrupt  doctrine  and 
unlawful  worship  ;'  and  to  take  atvay  the  daily  sacrijice  is  to 
take  away  '  the  true  doctrine  and  worship  instituted  hy 
Christ".'  '  Here,'  says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  the  time  allotted  for 
the  persecutions  of  Antichrist,  till  the  church  be  entirely 
cleansed  and  purified,  is  enlarged  from  1260  days,  denoted 
by  time^  times ^  and  an  half ^  ver.  7,  to  1290  days.'  'The 
prophet  immediately  adds.  Blessed  is  he  that  waiteth,  and 
Cometh  to  the  thousand  three  hundred  and  Jive  and  thirty 
days.  The  state  of  mankind,  at  the  end  of  this  second 
period  of  45  years,  is  to  be  substantially  meliorated^*. 

Mr.  Bicheno,  who  calculates,  that  the  first  period  which 
Daniel  specifies,  a  time,  and  times^  and  an  half  or  the 
1260  years  terminated  in  the  year  1789,  about  which  time 
also  the  resurrection  of  the  witnesses  and  the  earthquake  i?t 
the  Tenth  Part  of  the  city  took  place,  consequently  sup- 
poses, that  the  1290  years  will  end  in  the  year  1819,  and 
the  1335  5^ears  in  1864.  During  the  first  of  these  periods, 
reaching  from  the  year  1789  to  1819,  he  concludes,  that  all 
the  seven  vials  are  to  be  poured  out ;  '  a  season,'  says  he, 
*  it  is  likely  of  great  calamities,  but  especially  to  the  ene- 
mies of  Christ's  kingdom. — To  gather  and  try  the  Jews 
preparatory  to  their  conversion,  to  destroy  the  remains  of 
tyranny,  and  to  purify  and  enlarge  the  Gentile  church,  will 
occupy  forty-five  years  more. — This  is  the  time  of  which 


32  Vol.  II.  p.  193. 

33  Parker  on  Dan.  p.  109,  133.  '  The  offering  daily  sacrifices  is  an  ex- 
pi'cssion  very  proper  to  denote  the  external  of  the  Christian  worsliip.* 
Comment  mid  Ess.  ut  supra,  signature  Synergiis,  vol.  I.  p.  473. 

34  Bp.  New-ton  says,  *  it  is,  I  conceive,  to  these  great  events,  tlae  fall 
of  Antichrist,  the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  the  beginning  of  the  glo- 
rious millennium,  that  the  three  different  dates  in  Daniel  of  1260  years^ 
1290  years,  and  1335  ) ears,  are  to  be  referred,'  vol.  Ill,  p.  393.  That  the 
Jews  will  be  restored  to  their  own  land  in  the  course  of  30  years,  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  1260,  I  do  not,  however,  myself  conceive  to  be  at  all 
probable.    See  Rom.  xi.  25. 


CHAP.  XXI.  31 

Daniel  says,  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  to  it,  and  which  is 
the  year  1864".' 

Such  is  the  statement  of  Mr.  Bicheno.  On  the  proba- 
bility of  it  the  reader  must  judge  for  himself.  Persuaded 
that  the  fixing  of  futvire  dates  is  a  business  of  infinite  delica- 
cy, I  should  certainly  myself  have  been  very  unwilling  to 
have  spoken  in  so  peremptory  a  manner  respecting  the 
epochas  of  Daniel,  or  on  the  period  when  any  \xn?iccovnp\ish- 
ed  events  are  destined  to  happen^^  With  respect  to  the 
time  when  the  proper  millenniary  period  shall  commence,  I 
do  not  allow  myself  even  to  conjecture?  and,  on  the  num- 
ber of  years  which  will  be  occupied  in  the  effusion  of  the 
vials,  I  likewise  conceive  myself  incompetent  to  give  any 
opinion.  Of  this,  however,  I  am  persuaded,  that  they  will 
be  poured  out  much  sooner  than  maiiy  commentators  have 
supposed. 

The  following  is  the  opinion  of  an  ingenious  French  com- 
mentator. It  '  may  be  affirmed  as  certain  and  indubitable, — 
that  when  the  vials  come  to  be  poured  out,  there  shall  be  no 
long  distance  between  the  pouring  out  of  one  of  them,  and 
the  effusion  of  the  rest.  Because  it  is  said  in  the  xth  chap- 
ter, v.  6,  that  the  angel  sware  that  there  should  be  time  Jia 
lo7iger.  That  is  to  say,  that  there  should  be  no  more  delay ; 
that  the  judgments  of  God  shall  overtake  the  Beast,  without 
any  respite  betwixt  one  and  another. — Before  the  pouring 
forth  of  the  first'  vial  '  be  ended,  the  second  shall  begin, 
and  so  the  rest".'  The  whole  of  the  angelic  oath,  relating 
to  the  period  of  the  seventh  trumpet,  which  I  have  alluded 
to  as  being  copied  from  Daniel,  is  thus  sublimely  expressed. 
And  the  angel  which  I  saw  stand  upon  the  sea,  and  upon  the 
earth,  lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven,  and  sware  by  him  that 
livethfor  ever  and  ever,  xuho  created  heaven  and  the  things 
that  ore  therein,  and  the  earth  and  the  things  that  are  therein, 

35  Signs  of  the  Times,  p.  60,  65. 

36  In  Justice  to  Mr.  Bicheno  it  ought,  however,  to  be  observed,  that  he 
speaks  in  a  far  less  confident  tone,  than  that  -which  maiw  preceding  calcu- 
lators have  employed. 

57  Ne\y  Syst.  of  the  Apoc  p.  250. 


32  i  CHAP.    XXI. 

aiid  the  sea  and  the  things  which  are  therein^  that  there  should 
be  no  longer  delaij'^^ :  but  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the 
seventh  angel^  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound^"^^  the  mystery  of 
God  should  be  finished^  as  he  hath  declared  to  his  servants  the 
prophets^°.  By  Mr.  Pile  a  part  of  this  passage  is  thus  pa- 
raphrased. Having  lifted  up  his  hands  to  heaven,  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  angel  in  Daniel  is  represented  to  have 
done*',  he,  'in  the  name  of  the  Almighty  and  Eternal  Father 
of  all  things,  protested,  that  whatever  the  said  Daniel,  or 
any  other  prophet  had  foretold  concerning  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  and  the  glorious  success  of  it  here  upon  earth,  in 
the  latter  ti)7ies^  should  be  all  punctually  fulfilled.  And  par- 
ticularly that  part  of  Daniel's  prediction,  that  the  reign  of 
the  antichristian  kingdom  of  idolatry  and  persecution  was 
to  continue,  after  it  is  in  its  full  height,  but  for  a  time,  and 
times,  and  a  half  iijne  (i.  e.  for  1260  years  and  no  longer), 
should  be  verified  in  the  period  of  this  seventh  trumpet.' 
With  respect  to  the  expression,  the  mystery  of  God,  it  sig- 
nifies, says  Vitringa,  '  the  oracles  of  the  prophets,  which 
interpret  the  secret  will  of  God;'  and  it  consists,  adds  this 
eminent  commentator,  of  the  great  concluding  events  which 
they  foretell ;  namely,  of  the  remarkable  judgments  by 
which  the  enemies  of  Christ's  kingdom  shall  be  destroyed, 
the  establishment  of  that  kingdom  throughout  the  globe, 
and  the  consequent  universal  prevalence  of  virtue  and  ho- 
liness. 


38  Thus  Mr.  Wakefield  translates  this  clause.  In  our  common  transla- 
tion it  is,  that  there  should  be  time  no  longer.  That  ;t;fave?  signifies  delay 
may  be  seen  in  the  lexicons  of  Constantine  and  Hederic  ;  that  it  here 
bears  that  signification  is  the  statement  of  Brightman,  of  Doddi-idge,  and 
of  Vitringa ;  and  it  is  observed  by  Daubuz,  that  in  this  place  it  is  thus  un- 
derstood by  •  most  interpreters  and  versions.' 

39  Daubuz  renders  the  words,  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  angel, 
ivhen  he  shall  sound  the  trumpet,  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  fnished;  and 
jidds,  that  the  original  might  have  been  translated,  when  he  shall  have 
soitnded. 

-iO  X.  5,  6,  7.  41  XII.   7. 


CHAP.  XXI.  33 

Whenever  the  vials  '  begin,'  says  Dr.  Beverly  in  his 
Scripture  Line  of  Time'^'^^  '  they  move  with  so  swift  a 
course,  that  it  is  impossible  there  should  be  any  delay  in 
them  after  they  are  begun,  or  that  any  of  them  should  be 
entered,  and  not  all  of  them  in  their  order  swiftly  poured 
out.'  It  is  observed  by  Brightman,  (a  commentator  always 
treated  with  great  respect  by  Vitringa,)  that  the  seventh 
trumpet,  which,  he  says,  has  the  seven  vials  for  its  consti- 
tuent parts,  '  should  be  dispatched  in  a  short  time,  and 
should  not  linger  so  long  as  the  former  trumpets  did,  but 
should  fly  rather  with  swift  wings'*^'  '  The  effects  of  the 
seventh  trumpet,'  says  Mr.  Waple,  '  shall  not  take  up  any 
long  time  in  their  accomplishing ;  but  shall  be  performed 
with  speed,  and  of  a  sudden ;  which  may  perhaps  be  the 
meaning  of  cpxef^i  -rxx^  '•  ^^^i  ^^  a  judicious  person  hath 
acutely  observed,  the  sixth  trumpet  comes  immediately 
after  the  fifth,  as  well  as  the  seventh  after  the  sixth ;  and 
therefore  it  cannot  be  distinguished  from  the  others  by  its 
immediate  succession,  which  is  common  to  them  all ;  but 
by  the  speed  of  its  motions  and  the  quickness  of  its 
events**.' 

That  the  vials  will  be  poured  out  rapidly^  seems  to  be 
countenanced  by  the  8th  verse  of  the  xviiith  ch.  of  St.  John, 
where  that  prophet,  when  speaking  of  the  symbolic  Babylon, 
says,  her  plagues  shall  come  in  one  day^  death.,  and  mournings 
and  famine.  Against  the  opinion,  that  the  vials  Will  be 
poured  out  with  a  considerable  degree  of  rapidity,  the  word 
'iiial  may  itself  appear  to  millitate  ;  for,  as  it  signifies  a  ves- 
sel with  a  narrow  mouth,  it  would  seem  to  denote,  that 
God's  wrath  will  be  poured  out  not  all  at  once^  but  slowly^ 
and  by  little  and  little.  But  the  objection  has  no  solid  foun- 
dation. The  fact  is,  the  word  vial  is  an  improper  rendering; 
for  it  communicates  to  the  mind  of  the  English  reader  an 
idea  entirely  different  from  that  which  the  Greek  original 
suggests.     On  this  point  it  will  be  sufficient  to  appeal  to 


42  Published  in  London  in  4to.  in  1684,  p.  187. 

43  See  p.  380,  506.  44  On  ch.  xi.  14< 

Vol.  II.  E 


34f  CHAP.    XXII. 

two  of  the  most  learned  of  the  commentators.  '  We  have 
proved,'  says  Daubuz*',  that  <pix>^,  the  word  here  used,  is  a 
bowl  or  basin  proper  for  libations,  to  pour  the  liquor  con- 
tained all  at  once.^  A  <piux»  '  is  supposed  by  all  interpreters,' 
says  Vitringa'"^,  *  to  have  certainly  had  the  shape  of  a  cup, 
and  this  has  lately,  by  a  certain  writer  of  eminent  learning, 
been  very  clearly  demonstrated'*^'  It  is  manifest  then,  that 
the  word  under  consideration,  instead  of  favoring  the 
alleged  objection,  when  examined,  favors  the  expectation, 
that  thtse  divine  judgments  will  be  rapidly  executed. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ON    A    MEMORABLE    PREDICTION    DELIVERED    BY    CHRIST. 

THERE  is  a  passage,  leading  to  the  same  conclusions 
with  the  prophecies,  which  have  been  alleged  in  chapters 
xviii,  and  xx.  from  Daniel  and  from  John,  which  is  sanc- 
tioned by  a  yet  higher  name.  It  is  the  prediction  of  Christ 
himself.  Certainly  therefore  it  claims  more  than  ordinary^ 
attention :  and,  in  order  that  it  may  be  examined  fairly,  I 
must  entreat  the  reader  to  divest  himself,  as  much  as  possi- 
ble, of  any  preconceived  notions  respecting  the  meaning  of 
the  expressions  that  occur  in  it;  and  to  ask  himself,  whether 
these  notions  are  the  result  of  enquiry,  or  whether  they 
have  been  taken  up,  hastily  and  inconsiderately,  either  from 
a  deference  to  the  authority  of  commentators,  or  from  an 
attention  to  the  mere  sound  of  the  words.  In  the  observations 
to  be  made  upon  this  prophecy,  I  shall  in  many  points  follow 
Joseph  Mede.  And  what  is  his  character?  He  is  intro- 
duced to  the  reader  by  bp.  Hurd  (to  the  scholar  indeed  he 
could  be  no  stranger),  as  '  a  sublime  genius, — solely  devot- 

45  P.  681.  46  P.  689. 

47  Braunlo,  Select.  Sacr.  lib.  ii.  cap.  5,  sect.  64,  65 


CHAP.    XXII.  35 

ed  to  the  love  of  truth,  and  to  the  investigation  of  it.  His 
learning,'  declares  the  prelate  '  was  vast,  but  well  chosen 
and  well  digested;  and  his  understanding,  in  no  common 
degree,  strong  and  capacious'.' 

The  predictions  of  the  xxivth  ch.  of  Matthew,  says  Dr. 
Jortin,  *  may  perhaps  prefigure  the  destruction  of  antichris- 
tian  Tyranny*,  and  the  manifestation  of  Christ,  that  is,  of 
his  power  and  spirit ;  and  then  may  commence  a  better  and 
happier  sera,  and  such  a  renovation,  as  may  be  called  New 
Heavens  and  a  New  Earthy  -wherein  dxvelleth  righteous- 
ness^,^  But  the  reader  will,  I  hope,  in  the  course  of  the 
work,  see  reason  to  believe,  not  only  that  they  are  prejigur- 
ed^  but  that  they  are  expressly  and pri7narily  foretold;  and 
will  assent  to  the  opinion  of  Daubuz  and  of  Dr.  Lancaster 
with  respect  to  these  predictions.  The  former  in  his  Com- 
mentary, and  the  latter  in  his  Symbolical  Dictionary,  ob- 
serve (and  I  am  sorry  that  their  incidental  introduction  of 
the  passage  permitted  them  not  to  be  more  copious  on  the 
subject),  that  when  Jesus  said  (Mat.  xxiv.  29),  that  '  the. 
Powers  of  the  Heavens  shall  be  shaken,  it  is  easy  to  conceive 
that  he  meant,  that  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  should 

BE  overthrown  TO  SUBMIT  TO  HIS  KINGDOM*.' 

Our  Lord's  words  are  these  :  Lmnediately  after  the  tribu- 
lation  of  those  days  shall  the  sun  be  darkened,  and  the  moon 
shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven, 
and  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken  .  '  Certainly 
our  Saviour,'  says  Joseph  Mede,  here  '  useth  a  prophetical 
expression.'  It  cannot,  as  he  shews,  be  literally  understood, 
'  Whither,'  he  asks,  *  shall  the  stars  fall  from  heaven,  which 
are  either  as  big,  or  many  times  bigger,  than  the  glolie  of 
the  earth?  Where  shall  there  be  room  for  them*;' 

1  Vol.  II.  p.  122. 

2  In  like  manner,  Dr.  Wells  says,  that  Mat.  xxiv.  29,  m^iy  secondarily  be 
understood  of  the  final  destruction  of  the  antichristian  state. 

3  Rem.  on  Eccl.   Hist.  vol.  I  p.  225. 

4  Daubuz,  p.  161.  5  Mat.  xxiv.  29.' 

6  P.  761.  One  of  Mede's  most  illustrious  contemporaries,  Hugo  Gro- 
tius,  omits  not  to  observe,  that  to  the  expressions  of  this  verse  a  symbolic 
meaiVmg  must  be  annexed. 


36 


CHAP.  XXII. 


This  point  then  being  taken  for  granted,  it  next  remains 
to  enquire,  what  is  the  estabhshecj  acceptation  of  the  sublime 
symbols  which  our  Lord  has  employed.  There  are  two 
ways  of  assertaining  their  meaning.  First^  by  consulting 
parallel  passages ;  secondly^  by  seeking  the  interpretation  as 
given  by  ■■••  riters  of  acknowleged  eminence. 

I  begin  with  a  parallel  passage.  In  the  viiith  ch.  of  the 
book  of  Revelation  it  is  said:  and  the  fourth  angel  sounded, 
and  the  third  part  of  the  sun  was  smitten^  and  the  third  part 
of  the  vioon^  and  the  third  part  of  the  stars  ;  so  as  the  third 
part  of  them  was  darkened,  I  now  transcribe  the  words  of 
Mr.  Pyle's  paraphrase.  '  The  fourth  angel  sounded  the 
complete  fall  of  this  apostate  Western  empire,  and  an  end 
of  the  very  name  and  title  of  the  Roman  Caesars.  This  was 
represented  to  me  by  a  darkness  spread  over  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars ;  that  is  to  say,  the  ruin  of  its  monarchy ;  of  its 
prince,  nobles,  subordinate  magistrates  and  powers.  And 
thus  it  was  fulfilled,  in  this  Empire  of  Europe,  styled  the 
third  part  of  the  then  known  world.'  That  the  fourth  trumpet 
predicts  *  the  abolishing  of  the  whole  Roman  majesty  in 
their  senate,  consuls,  and  presidents  ;  the  sun  and  moon  in 
those  parts  having  no  light  remaining,'  is  the  declaration  of 
Mede'.  '  There  is  no  longer,'  says  Dr.  H.  More,  '  any 
king  of  Rome,  denoted  by  the  sun,  nor  consular  power, 
nor  senatorian,  nor  the  power  of  other  known  ancient  ma- 
gistrates of  Rome,  denoted  by  the  moon  and  stars.'  '  This 
fourth  trumpet,'  says  Mr.  Whiston,  'eclipses  the  European 
sun,  moon,  and  stars,  i.  e.  it  extinguishes  the  Western 
emperor  and  his  subordinate  governors^.'  From  the  ge- 
neral harmony  of  the  commentators  on  this  subject,  a  crowd 
of  similar  passages  might  be  produced. 

I  am  next  to  enquire,  xvhat  is  the  interpretation  given  to 
our  Lord's  symbols  by  writers  of  acknowleged  eminence. 
After  remarking,  that  it  is  admitted  on  all  hands,  that  our 
Lord  did  certainly  sometimes  employ  the  word  heaven  in  a 
symbolic  sense^  ;  I  shall,  on  the  import  of  that  expression, 
extract  an  observation  from  Dr.  Lancaster,  though  indeed 

7  P.  738.  8  P.  166. 

9  As  in  his  prediction  about  the  fate  of  Capernaum.     Luke  x.  15. 


CHAP.    XXII.  3Jr 

his  opinion  respecting  it  has  been  slightly  refered  to  in  a  note, 
which  was  introduced  in  ch.  ix.  According  to  the  extent  of 
the  subject,  '  Heaven  signifies,  symbolically,  the  Ruling 
Power  or  Government ;  that  is,  the  whole  assembly  of  the 
ruling  powers,  which,  in  respect  of  the  subjects  or  earthy 
are  a  political  heaven^  being  over  and  ruling  the  subjects, 
as  the  natural  heaven  stands  over  and  rules  the  earth.* 
'  Mighty  changes  and  revolutions,'  bp.  Newton  more  briefly 
observes,  '  according  to  the  prophetic  style,  are  expressed 
by  great  commotions  in  the  earth  and  in  the  heavens'".' 
*  In  the  prophetic  language,'  says  Dr.  Sykes,  '  the  heavens 
are  put  for  the  higher  powers,  and  those  who  enjoy  great 
dignities  and  honors".'  In  like  manner  Joseph  Mede,  in 
the  paragraph  which  follows  his  citation  of  our  Lord's  pro- 
phecy, declares,  that,  in  the  diction  of  scripture,  the  politi- 
cal world  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  having  a7i  earth  and  a 
heaven,  with  a  figurative  host  of  '  kii^gs,  princes,  peers'^.* 
Mr.  Townson,  speaking  of  the  verse  under  consideration, 
says,  *  this  is  the  symbolical  language  of  prophecy  to  signify 
the  ruin  of  great  personages  and  kingdoms'^;'  Brenius  asserts, 
that  the  symbols  employed  in  it  are  every  where  used  to  de- 
note the  overthrow  of  kingdoms  and  a  mighty  revolution  in 
human  affairs ;  and  it  is  declared  by  Dr.  Wall,  that '  by 
these  names  of  sun,  moon,  stars,  falling,  are  so  constant- 
ly meant  temporal  powers,  kings,  princes,  governments, 
that  we  77iust  understand'  them  so  here'*.  Sir  Isaac  New- 
ton indeed  lays  it  down  as  a  matter  to  be  taken  for  granted, 
that  '  in  sacred  prophecy,  which  regards  not  single  persons, 

THE  SUN   IS  PUT  FOR  THE  WHOLE  SPECIES  AND  RACE 

OF  KINGS,  in  the  kingdom  or  kingdoms  of  the  woi'ld  politic, 
shining  with  regal  power  and  glory'^'  '  The  siin^  says 
Vitringa,  '  in  the  prophetic  diction  signifies  kings  shining 

10  Vol  III.  p.  56.  11  On  Heb.  xii.  26. 

12  P.  761.  13  On  the  Gospels,  4to.  p.  99,. 

14  Crit.  Notes  on  the  Nem  Test.  1730  p.  31.  Dr.  Wall  would  interpret 
Mat.  xxiv.  29,  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Jewish  princes  and  priests,  or  of 
■•he  fall  of  the  Roman  em]nrp 

15  P.  17. 


38  CHAP.    XXII. 

with  great  majesty^*.'     '  Kings  and  princes,'  observes  Mr. 
Lowth,  are  '  expressed  in  the  prophetical  style  by  the  name 
of  sun,  moon   and  stars'^.'     The  learned  Dr.  John  Owen, 
who  was  dean  of  Christ's   Church   and  vice-chancellor  of 
Oxford,  says,  '  you  may  take  it  for  a  rule,  that  in  the  de- 
nunciations of  the  judgments  of  God,  through  all  the  pro- 
phets, heavens^  sun^  moon^  stars — are  taken  for  governments, 
governors,  dominions  in  political  states'^'     '  The  holy  pro- 
phets,' says  bp.  Warburton,  *  call  kings  and  empires  by  the 
names   of  the  heavenly  luminaries ;'  and  a  little  farther  he 
adds,  *- stars  Jailing  from  the  firmament  are  employed  to 
denote  the  destruction  of  the  nobility".'     In  like  manner 
Sir  I.   Newton   says,  *  the  stars   are    put   for   subordinate 
princes  and  great  men.'   This  long  list  of  testimonies  I  shall 
conclude  by  stating  the  opinion  of  an  illustrious  Jew  of  the 
12th   century.        Moses   Maimonides,    in  commenting  on 
those  words  of  Isai^  (xxxiv.   4),  the  host  of  heaven  shall 
be  dissolved  and  in  observing  that  stars,  in  the  symbolic  dic- 
tion of    prophecy,  signify  men   of   rank  and  dignity,   de- 
clares it  to  be  so  clear  and  evident,  that  he  should  not  have 
thought  it  necessary  to  have  said  a  single  word  on  the  im- 
port of  these  expressions,  had  not  some  very   improperly 
annexed  to  them  a  literal  interpretation*". 

I  may  add,  that,  in  the  symbolic  language  of  antiquity,  the 
sun  always  stood  for  a  monarch  or  for  monarchy ;  whilst  the 
moon  and  the  stars  represented  persons  of  inferior  but  elevated 
rank  in  the  state  *'.  In  proof  of  this  I  shall  translate,  as  doc- 


16  In  Apoc.  xvi  8.  17  On  Isa.  xxiv.  21. 

18  A  Complete  Col.  of  his  Serm.  fol.  1721.  p.  322- 

19  Divine  Leg'at.  of  Moses,  vol.  II.   p.  152. 

20  More  Nevochhn,  a  Buxtorfio,  Bas.  1629,  p.  267.  It  is  of  this  celebrated 
Jew,  wlio  lived  in  Egypt  as  physician  to  the  Soldan,  that  Casaubon, 
after  declaring  him  to  have  been  *  a  man  of  great  abilities  and  of  sound 
learning,'  says  f  Exercit.  contra  Baron,  xvi.  77^,  that  '  he  was  the  first  of 
his  tribe  who  ceased  to  be  a  trifler '  His  profound  knowlege  of  the  He- 
brew scriptures  admits  not  of  dispute. 

21  '  lu  hierog'lyphic  writing  the  sun,  moon,  axxdstars,  were  used  to  repre- 
sent states  and  empires,  kings,  queens,  and  nobility.'  Warburton's  Div. 
Legat.  of  Moses,  vol.  11.  p.  152 


CHAP.    XXII.  39 

tors  More  and  Lancaster  have  done,  from  the  Greek** 
of  Achniet.  *  According  to  the  Indians,  Persians,  and 
Egyptians,  the  sun  is  invariably  interpreted  of  the  person  of 
the  king,  and  the  moon  of  him  who  is  next  in  power  to  him : 
Venus  refers  to  the  queen,  and  the  other  stars  of  largest 
magnitude  to  those  who  are  greatest  with  the  sovereign '^^.' 
Again  in  the  next  chapter,  speaking  of  the  mode  of  inter- 
pretation established  in  Persia  and  in  Egypt,  he  says,  '  the 
multitude  of  the  other  greatest  stars  are  to  be  referred  to 
the  men  of  nobility  and  opulence,  and  those  who  in  every 
place  live  nearest  to  the  king.' 

After  what  has  been  said,  the  mode  of  interpreting  the 
alleged  prophecy  of  Christ  appears  pointed  out  to  us  with 
abundant  clearness.  Since  it  is  not  only  agreed,  that  St.  John's 
prediction  of  a  third  part  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  being 
darkened,  over  the  meaning  of  which  a  light  has  been 
thrown  by  its  fulfilment,  signifies  the  overthrow  of  the 
established  government  in  a  third  part  of  the  known  world ; 
but  it  is  also  on  all  hands  admitted,  that  these  symbols  have 
ever  been  regarded  as  the  established  representatives  of 
monarchy  and  nobility;  when  our  Lord  solemnly  declares,, 
that  the  sun  shall  be  darkened^  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her 
light^  and  the  stars  shell  fall  fro7n  heaven ;  we  are  justly 
authorised  to  conclude,  according  to  all  the  rules  of  consist- 
ent criticism  and  legitimate  interpretation,  that  the  holy 
founder  of  our  religion  has  foretold  the  complete  destruc- 
tion of  all  the  established  systems  of  oppression,  which  kings 
and  nobles  may  any  where  uphold.  The  expression  is 
manifestly  prophetical.  It  is  general ;  not  being  limited 
to  any  country  in  particular ;  nor  restricted,  as  in  the  fore- 
going citation  from  St.  John,  to  a  third  part  of  the  sun  and 
the  stars. 

Of  Gampegius  Vitringa  I  have  before  had  occasion  to 
speak  in  the  highest  terms.       In  truth,  the  depth  of  his, 

22  By  saying'  this,  I  mean  not  to  decide  on  the  question,  whether  the 
treatise  of  Achmet  was  originally  written  in  the  languag-e  of  Greece  or  of 
Arabia.     Most  probably  it  is  a  translation  from  the  Arabic. 

23  Achmetis  Oneirocritica,  cap.  167. 


40  CHAP.    XXII, 

knowlege,  and  the  extent  of  his  celebrity,  as  an  interpreter 
of  prophetic  scripture,  are  not  surpassed  by  any  commen- 
tator of  any  age  or  any  country^.  I  am,  therefore,  parti- 
cularly happy  in  finding,  that  his  decided  opinion  respecting 
the  time  when  this  prophecy  is  to  be  fulfilled,  and  the  na- 
ture of  the  events  which  it  points  out,  is  in  perfect  agree- 
ment with  the  ideas  which  I  myself  had  formed.  This  part 
of  our  Lord's  prophecy  does,  he  declares,  refer  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  antichristian  princes  in  the  war  of  Armaged- 
don, and  to  the  great  events  foretold  by  St.  John  under  the 
emblems  of  the  harvest,  the  vintage,  and  the  sixth  seaP^. 

But  I  shall  be  asked,  does  this  most  illustrious  of  the 
prophets  himself  specify  any  twie ;  and,  if  specified,  does  it 
correspond  with  what  has  before  been  gathered  from  Daniel 
and  from  John?  I  answer,  that  it  perfectly  does.  The  sun 
shall  be  darkened^  savs  our  Lord,  hmnediately  after  the  tribu- 
lation of  those  days.  Now  what  are  those  days,  and  when  do 
they  terminate  ?  The  incomparable  Mr.  Med&  (I  use  the  epi- 
thet of  bps  Hurd  and  Hallifax),  in  speaking  of  the  Jews  and 
of  this  passage,  says,  '  This  great  tribulation,  such  as  never 
nation  suffered,  is  not  to  be  confined  to  their  calamity  at 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  but  extends  to  the  whole  time 
of  their  captivity  and  dispersion  from  that  time  unto  this 
present  not  yet  ended^^'  To  the  same  purpose  speaks  that 
eminent  Dutch  divine,  Episcopius,  in  his  commentary  on 
Matthew  :  and  in  like  manner  archbishop  Tillotson  has  ob- 
served, that  the  prophecy  of  Jesus  respecting  the  sufferings 
of  his  countrymen  '  comprehends  from  the  destruction  of  Je- 
rusalem all  the  time  of  the  captivity  of  the  Jews  among  the 
Gentiles,  which  we  see  is  not  yet  expired;'  and  that  when  it 

24  Lo?ige  doctissinius  iiiterpres,  is  the  honorable  epithet  by  which  bishop 
Lowth  distinguishes  the  name  of  Vitihiga.  De  Sacra  Poesi  Hebrxoruin 
Preelections.     Oxon.  1763.  p.  272. 

25  See  Vitringa  jn  ^ftoc.  p.  279;  and  in  Jesai,  vol.  II.  p.  276,  277.  Else- 
where also  Vitringa  declares  (in  yesai,  vol.  II.  p.  23),  that  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  are  to  be  understood,  in  this  pass:ig-e  of  MaUlicw,  of  political 
and  ecclesiastical  govenio7'.< 

26  P. 920 


CHAP.  XXll.  41 

is  said  the  sun  shall  be  darkened^  &c.  after  the  tribulation  of 
those  days^  the  meaning  is,  this  shall  happen,  '  when  God 
hath  made  an  end  of  punishing  the  nation  of  the  Jews^'.' 

It  has  also  been  thought,  that  these  words  relate  not  to 
the  descendants  of  Abraham  alone.  The  expression,  '  the 
tribulation  of  those  days,  includes,'  says  Mat.  Henry,  '  not 
only  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem**,  but  all  the  other  tri- 
bulations which  the  church  must  pass  through  ;'  and  thus  it 
is  to  be  extended  as  well  to  the  Christians  as  to  the  Jews« 
That  it  is  to  be  applied  to  the  sufferings  of  the  Christian 
church  was  the  decided  opinion  of  Vitringa*'.  Such  like- 
wise was  the  sentiment  of  Theophylact^°  and  of  Chrysos- 
tom.  I  now  cite  the  words  of  the  latter.  '  Of  the  tribula" 
tion  of  what  days  is  he  speaking  ?  That  of  Antichrist  and 
of  false  teachers^'.'  And  there  are  not  wanting  reasons 
for  believing,  that  when  our  Lord  said,  two  or  three  verses 
before  (v.  24),  that  there  shall  arise  false  Christs  and  false 
teachers^^,  he  alluded  to  that  long  period  of  antichristian 
superstition,  which  has  darkened  Christendom  for  so  many 
centuries ;  and  that  this  is  the  period  respecting  which  he 
speaks  from  the  beginning  of  v.   23  to  the  end  of  v.  28. 

*  Many  learned  interpreters  of  our  times,'   says  Vitringa, 

*  with  whose  opinion  my  sentiments  coincide,  think  that 
our  Lord  summarily  relates  here,  not  only  the  extirpation 
of  Judaism,  but  likewise  the  more  eminent  events  of  his 
church,  even  to  the  close  of  the  «<»v".' 

27  Serm.  183. 

28  *  Some  interpreters,'  says  Calvin,  *  rashly  understand  tlie  triiuiation 
of  those  days  as  relating  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  alone.' 

29  In  Apoc.  p.  279. 

30  Vid.  in  loc.  et  in  Mark,  c.  xiii.  31  Homil.  in  loc, 

32  In  the  very  valuable  translation  of  Mr.  Wakefield>  teachers  is  the 
word  employed.    Prophets  is  the  word  admitted  into  the  common  version. 

33  In  Apoc.  p.  230.  After  the  reader  shall  have  perused  the  xxviith 
chapter  of  the  present  work,  he  will  discern  the  reason,  why  Vitringa  has 
incorporated  into  the  sentence  quoted  above  the  Greek  expression,  Tr,t 

Vol.  II.  J 


42  '  CHAP.   XXII, 

But,  in  order  to  make  Christ's  prediction  more  plain,  I 
shall,  from  Matthew,  again  cite  his  words^  together  with  a 
part  of  the  parallel  place  in  Luke.  I  begin  with  Matthew. 
Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days  shall  the  sun 
be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  lights  and  the 
stars  shall  fall  from  heaven^  and  the  powers  of  heaven  shall 
he  shaken. — And  they  shall  see  the  son  of  man  coming  in  the 
clouds  bf  heaven^*  with  poxver  and  great  glory.  From  the 
xxist  ch.  of  Luke  we  learn,  that  the  tribidation  of  those 
days  has  a  very  extensive  meaning, .  and  that  it  especially 
signifies  the  treading  down  of  Jerusalem  and  Judea  by  the 
Gentiles,  which  shall  not  terminate  till  the  times  of  the 
Gentiles  are  accomplished ;  for  such  is  the  import  of  his 
Words.  This  people^  i.  e.  the  Jews  shall  be  led  away  cap- 
tive into  all  nations :  and  ferusalem  shall  be  trodden  down 
of  the  Gentiles^  until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled. 
And  there  shall  be  signs  in  the  sicn,  and  in  the  moon^  and  in 
the  stars.  In  the  next  and  two  following  verses  the  evan- 
gelist adds,  that  the  powers  of  heaven  shall  be  shaken.  And 
then  shall  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  a  cloud  with 
power  and  great  glory.  And  when  these  thijigs  begin  to  come 
to  pass,  then  look  up,  and  lift  up  your  heads ;  for  your  re- 
demption draweth  nigh.  From  a  comparison  of  these  two 
passages  in  Matthew  and  in  Luke,  it  appears  evident,  that 
the  tribulation  of  those  days,  mentioned  by  the  former  of 
these  apostolic  writers,  reaches  to  the  whole  period,  during 
which  yerusalem  shall  be  trodden  of  the  Gentiles.  Now  bp. 
Newton  observes  in  one  of  his  Dissertations  on  our  Lord's 
prophecy,  that  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  will  be  fulfilled, 
'  when  the  times  of  the  four  great  kingdoms  of  the  Gen- 
tiles according  to  Daniel's  prophecies  shall  be  expired".* 
At  length  then  we  are  able  to  form  some  ideas  of  the  time, 
when  the  prediction  of  Jesus  is  to  be  accomplished.     We 


34  Mat.  xxiv.  29,  30.  Tliat  the  coming  of  the  son  of  man  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven  needs  not  to  be  literally  understood,  and  that  it  has  no  reference  tc 
the  end  of  the  world,  wiU  be  shewn  in  ch.  xxx, 

35  Vol.  II.  p.  314., 


CHAP.    XXII.  43 

collect,  from  the  comparison  of  the  evangelists,  that  the 
events  pointed  out  by  him,  under  the  symbols  of  the  dark- 
ening of  the  sun^  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  whatever  import 
these  symbols  may  be  supposed  to  have,  are  to  happen  when 
the  times  of  the  Gentiles  are  fulfilled;  that  is  to  say,  are 
contemporary  with  the  demolition  of  the  antichristian  go- 
vernments of  the  European  world,  as  foretold  by  Daniel. 
But  the  meaning  of  these  symbols  has  been  satisfactorily 
ascertained  ;  and  hence  it  appears,  that  Daniel  and  Christ 
have  presignified  the  same  great  catastrophe.  And  certain- 
ly it  is  no  subject  of  surprise,  that  the  downfal  of  all  those 
monarchies  and  aristocracies,  which  oppress  the  world, 
should  have  been  predicted,  since  it  was  foreseen  by  the 
Divine  Mind  ;  not  only  that  some  of  them  would  vehe- 
mently resist  the  first  propagation  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  ; 
but  that  all  of  them,  during  a  long  series  of  ages,  and 
during  the  whole  of  their  continuance  in  power,  even 
though  they  professed  to  be  converts  to  it,  would  in  fact 
be  altogether  strangers  to  its  spirit,  and  openly  violating 
all  its  laws  would  be  alike  injurious  to  the  practice  and  to 
the  spread  of  Christianity. 

But  I  hasten  to  conclude.  If  then  it  be  evident,  as  well 
from  a  consultation  of  the  prophetic  scriptures  themselves, 
as  from  the  opinions  of  the  most  approved  writers,  that  the 
sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars  are,  in  the  diction  of  prophecy, 
the  known,  established  symbols  either  of  a  monarch  and  his 
nobles,  or  of  monarchy  and  aristocracy  in  general;  if  what 
bp.  Hurd  affirms  be  in  any  degree  well  founded,  that  '  there 
is,  in  truth,  no  more  difficulty  in  fixing  the  import  of  the 
prophetic  style,  than  that  of  any  other  language  or  techni- 
cal phraseology  whatever^* ;'  surely  I  shall  not  be  charged, 
even  by  the  advocate  of  tyranny,  with  having  annexed  this 

36  Vol.  II.  p.  98.  See  similar  assertions  in  More  (On  the  Apoc.  p.  304) 
and  Lancaster  (p.  19).  '  Each  symbol,'  says  the  latest  of  all  the  com- 
mentators on  the  Apocalypse, '  has  as  determinate  and  distinct  a  meaning, 
as  each  word  in  other  languages  hath.'  Johnston  of  Holy  wood,  vol.  J, 
p.  41. 


44  CHAP.    XXII. 

sense  to  the  words  of  our  Saviour  on  grounds,  which  are 
altogether  light  and  doubtful  and  destitute  of  authority. 

If  the  reason  be  asked,  whence  this  passage  has  not  been 
oftener  viewed  in  the  same  light,  and  whence  it  has  hap- 
pened, that  NOT  ONE  of  the  many  English  commentators  on 
the  Evangelists  has  thus  interpreted  it ;  I  reply,  without 
assigning  any  motives  of  policy  as  having  communicated  to 
the  minds  of  any  among  them  a  secret  bias,  that  those  of 
them  who  have  most  successfully  illustrated  the  Evange- 
lists, and  have  been  followed  by  the  tribe  of  inferior  exposi- 
tors, have  rarely  paid  any  marked  attention  to  the  symbols 
of  the  prophets^  and  therefore  it  is  not  to  be  wondered, 
that,  when  they  have  incidentally  met  with  them,  they  have 
not  turned  out  of  their  usual  track,  and  have  in  conse- 
quence misinterpreted  them,  as  if  they  were  expressions 
not  prophetic  but  literal".  That  this  is  a  true  solution  of 
the  difficulty,  the  reader  will  see  solid  grounds  for  believ- 
ing, when  he  recollects,  that  the  alleged  interpretation  of 
our  Lord's  words  has  received  the  unanimous  suffrage  of 
Daubuz,  of  Lancaster,  and  of  Vitringa^* ;  who  are  perhaps 
the  three  men,  who  of  all  others  best  understood  the  sym- 
bolic language  of  prophecy^  and  had  most  diligently  compared 
together  the  predictions  of  different  prophets, 

37  If  Grotius  and  Gilbert  Wakefield  be  excepted,  I  know  not  a  single 
commentator  on  the  Evangelists,  who  appears  to  have  been  at  all  ac- 

a  quainted  with  the  important  works  of  Achmet  and  Artemidorus. 

38  I  add  not  the  name  of  Mede,  on  account  of  the  doubts  he  enter- 
tained, and  because  he  delivered  no  positive  opinion  on  the  subject.  Mede's 
ideas  on  the  xxivth  ch.  of  Matthew  I  shall  have  farther  occasion  to  state 
jn  the  xxvUtli,  and  xxviiith  chapters  of  the  work 


CHAP  XXII.  ,  45 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE  whole  of  the  present  work  was  written,  and  a 
considerable  part  of  it  printed,  previously  to  my  meeting 
with  the  quotation  that  follows.  The  principal  motives  for 
my  now  introducing  it  are,  because  many  of  the  thoughts 
which  it  contains  are  similar  to  those  that  predominate  in 
the  preceding  pages  ;  and  because  it  proceeds  from  the  pen 
of  a  courtier  and  a  dignitary  of  the  church,  whose  mind 
will  not  be  suspected  to  have  yielded  admission  to  any 
ideas  of  the  probability  of  a  Revolution  in  the  circum- 
stances of  mankind,  from  a  restless  temper  or  a  fondness 
for  innovation,  from  the  influence  of  prejudices  favorable 
to  freedom,  or  from  a  dissatisfaction  at  the  existing  state 
of  affairs.  It  is  from  a  charge^^  delivered  by  bishop  Por- 
teus. 

'  The  present  times,'  says  the  prelate,  '  and  the  present 
scene  of  things,  in  almost  every  part  of  the  civilized  world, 
are  the  most  interesting  and  the  most  awful  that  were  ever 
before  presented  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  ;  and  such 
as  must  necessarily  excite  the  most  serious  reflections  in 
every  thinking  mind.  Perhaps  all  those  singular  events  to 
which  we  have  been  witnesses,  unparalleled  as  they  un- 
doubtedly are  in  the  page  of  history,  may  be  only  the 
beginning  of  things,  may  be  only  the  first  leading  steps  to  a 
train  of  events  still  more  extraordinary ;  to  the  accomplish- 
ment possibly  of  some  new  and  unexpected,  and  at  present 
imfathomable,  designs  hitherto  reserved  and  hid  in  the 
counsels  of  the  Almighty.  Some  we  know  there  are  who 
think  that  certain  prophecies,  both  in  the   New  Testament 

39  A  Charge,  delivered  to  the  Clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  London,  at  the 
Visitation  of  tliat  Diocese  in  the  year  1794,  by  Beilby,  Lord  Bishop  of 
London. 


46  CHAP.    XXIIl. 

and  the  Old,  are  now  fulfilling;  that  the  signs  of  the  times 
are  portentous  and  alarming ;  and  that  the  sudden  extinc- 
tion of  a  great  monarchy,  and  of  all  the  splendid  ranks  and 
orders  of  men  that  supported  it,  is  only  the  completion  in 
part  of  that  prediction  in  the  gospel,  that  the  sun  shall  be 
darliened^  and  the  7noon  shall  not  give  her  lights  and  the  stars 
shall  fall  from  heaven^  before  the  second  appearance  of  the 
Messiah,  to  judge  the  earth  ;  all  which  expressions  are  well 
known  to  be  only  figurative  emblems  of  the  great  pow- 
ers and  rulers  of  the  world,  whose  destruction,  it  is  said,  is 
to  precede  that  great  event.  As  to  myself  I  pretend  not  to 
decide  on  these  arduous  points;  I  pretend  not  either  to 
prophecy  or  to  interpret  prophecy :  nor  shall  I  take  upon 
myself  lo  pronounce,  whether  we  are  now  approaching  (as 
some  think)  to  the  Millennium,  or  to  the  Day  of  Judgment, 
or  to  any  other  great  and  tremendous  and  universal  change 
predicted  in  the  sacred  writings.  But  this  I  am  sure  of, 
that  the  present  imexampled  state  of  the  Christian  world  is 
a  loud  and  powerful  call  upon  all  men,  but  upon  us  above  all 
men,  to  take  peculiar  heed  to  our  ways,  and  to  prepare  our- 
selves,— for  every  thing  that  may  befall  us,  be  it  ever  so 
novel,  ever  so  calamitous*".' 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

ON    THE    SIX    FIRST    SEALS,   AND    PARTICULARLY    THE    THIRD 
AND    THE    SIXTH. 

THERE  are  two  passages  in  the  two  sublimest  of  the 
scriptural  prophets,  one  in  John,  and  one  in  Isaiah,  which 
are  justly  observed  by  Pyle',  Brenius%  and  Vitringa^,  to  be 
parallel  places  with  the  memorable  prediction  of  our  Sa- 

40  P.  28. 

1  P.  48.  2  In  Mat.  xxiv.  29. 

3  In  Apoc.  p.  281 ;  and  in  Jesai,  vol.  II.  p.  23 


CHAP.  XXIII.  47 

viour,  which  was  illustrated  in  the  preceding  chapter.  They 
are  too  important  to  be  omitted.  As  the  prophecy  of  Jesus 
has,  however,  been  so  largely  investigated,  the  symbolic 
language  in  which  they  are  written  will  not  very  long  detain 
our  attention. 

Of  these  passages,  the-  first  which  I  shall  transcribe  and 
explain,  is  the  prediction  of  the  sixth  seal  :  and,  in 
order  that  a  just  conception  of  it  may  be  formed,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  introduce  some  account  of  the  five  preceding 
seals.  The  extract  that  follows  is  from  bp.  Newton.  '  Fu- 
ture events  are  supposed  by  St.  John,  as  well  as  by  Daniel 
and  other  prophets,  in  a  beautiful  figure,  to  be  registered 
in  a  book,  for  the  greater  certainty  of  them.  This  book 
(ver.  l)*  is  in  the  right  hand  of  God^  to  denote  that  as  he 
alone  directs  the  affairs  of  futurity,  so  he  alone  is  able  to 
reveal  them. — It  was  also  sealed^  to  signify  that  the  decrees 
of  God  are  inscrutable,  and  sealed  xvitk  seven  seals^  refer- 
ring to  so  many  signal  periods  of  prophecy.  In  short  we 
should  conceive  of  this  book,  that  it  was  such  an  one  as 
the  ancients  used,  a  volume  or  roll  of  a  book,  or  more  pro- 
perly a  volume  consisting  of  seven  volumes,  so  that  the 
opening  of  one  seal  laid  open  the  contents  only  of  one 
volume*.' 

Since  this  sealed  book  is  described  as  not  being  opened 
till  after  great  preparation^ ;  since  Christ  is  represented  in 
the  prophetic  vision  as  selected  to  perform  this  important 
task;  and  innun.er:;L'.-  multitudes  of  angels,  and  the  re- 
presentatives of  the  whole  Christian  church,  are  introduced 
as  raising  acclamations  of  joy  on  the  disclosure  of  its  con- 
tents^; it  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  foretell  events, 
which  should  be  highly  interesting  to  the  Christian  world, 
and  WHICH,  during  the   revolution  of  future  ages, 

SHOULD  HAVE  A    SIGNAL  INFLUENCE,   EITHER  FAVORABLE 
OR    UNFAVORABLE,    UPON   THE    PROGRESS    AND    UPON    THE 

PURITY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  FAITH.     But  such  is  the  intcr- 

4  Ch.  V.  5  Vol.  III.  p.  35. 

6Ch.V.  V.  1— r.  7V.8— 14. 


48  CHAP.  XXII, 

pretation  of  the  seven  seals,  which  is  adopted  by  bishop 
Newton  and  many  other  commentators,  as  altogether  to 
disappoint  these  expectations.  The  Jirst  seal^  or  period, 
says  the  bishop  of  Bristol,  denoted  the  conquests  of  Ves- 
pasian and  Titus ;  and  the  second  those  slaughters  which 
occurred  in  the  time  of  Trajan  and  his  immediate  succes- 
sors ;  the  third  was  predictive  of  the  measures  adopted  by 
the  two  emperors  of  the  name  of  Severus ;  and  the  fourth 
of  that  mortality  and  those  various  devastations,  which  dis- 
tinguished the  reigns  of  Maximin  and  the  princes  who 
succeeded.  According  to  this  explication,  these  prophe- 
cies, each  of  which  Christ  is  represented  as  opening  to 
view,  had  no  nearer  relation  to  the  Christian  than  to  the 
Pagan  subjects  of  the  Roman  empire.  But  to  entertain  a 
supposition  like  this,  to  represent  that  four  volumes  of  the 
divine  communications  were  of  such  a  complexion  as  to  be 
incapable  of  being  applied  to  the  benefit  of  the  church,  is, 
says  Vitringa,  to  support  an  hypothesis  that  is  at  variance 
with  reason*.  Reason,  indeed,  teaches  us  to  expect,  says 
this  distinguished  commentator,  that,  when  the  sealed  book 
is  divided  into  seven  volumes  or  periods  so7ne  proportion 
between  the  length  of  these  periods  should  be  preserved'. 
But  bp.  Newton  and  those  who  coincide  with  him'°  repre- 
sent, that  all  the  six  first"  seals  were  fulfilled  between  the 
reign  of  Vespasian  and  the  death  of  the  emperor  Theodo- 
sius,  a  period  of  only  325  years,  whilst  the  seventh  seal  alone 
was  run  on  from  that  time,  through  a  long  succession  of 
centuries,  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Some  sort  of  propor- 
tion also  might  be  expected  to  be  found  with  respect  to  the 
length  of  the  visions  themselves".  But  according  to  bp. 
Newton,  the   account  of  the  seventh  seal,   and  of  what  is 

8  P.  232.  9  P.  231. 

10  Lest  I  should  lead  the  reader  into  mistake,  I  remind  him,  that  Vi- 
tringa wrote  earlier  than  bp.  Newton,  and  therefore  had  not  hioi  in  view, 
but  other  commentators  of  similar  sentiments. 

11  The  first  seal,  according-  to  bp.  Newton,  occupies  the  .sca*fy  tarm  of 
about  28  years. 

12  See  Vitringa,  p.  226. 


CUAP.    XXIII. 


49 


contained  under  it,  fills  four  entire  chaptsrs  of  the  lApoca- 
lypse  :  whilst  the  description  of  the  other  seals  for  th6  m<)st 
part  occupies  only  two  or  three  verses.     The  fact  is,  says 
Vitringa,   and  it  is  the  opinion  of  Daubuz,  of  the  cele- 
brated Cocceius,  and  of  many  others'^,  that  the  seven  trum- 
pets, described  in  chapters  viii,  ix,  and  xi,  are  by  no  means 
to  be  included  under  the  seventh  seal,  but  constitute  a  new 
series  of  distinct  visions.     Independently  of  these  objec- 
tions, Vitringa  has  decisively  proved,  that  the  advocates 
of  the  hypothesis  under  consideration  have  in  applying  the 
emblems  of  the  prophet  to  particular  events,  been  singu- 
larly unsuccessful.     Thus  for  instance,   when  it  is   said  in 
the  delineation  of  the  second  seal,  that  there  xvent  out  ano- 
ther horse  that  xuas  red:  and  poxver  was  given  to  him  that 
sat  thereon^  to  take  peace  from   the  earthy   and  that  they 
should  kill  one  another :  and  there  xuas  given  unto  him  a  great 
sword:  these  emblems   are  pronounced  to  be  prophetic   of 
the   events  which  happened  in  the  reigns  of  Trajan   and 
Hadrian,  a  period  which  was   in  fact  distinguished  by  a 
more  than  common  portion  of  tranquillity  and  general  pros- 
perity.    But,  says   Vitringa,  if  these   symbols  are  to  be 
applied  to  the  wars  which  the  Romans  carried  on  with  other 
nations,  '  would  not  the  aspect  of  that  period,   when  the 
Roman  empire  was  on  all  sides  harrassed  by  the  Goths  and 
Scvthians,  the  Persians  and  Germans,   about  the   times  of 
Decius  and  Gallus,  and  was  almost  oppressed  by  these  na- 
tions,  be  far   more    suitably   expressed    by    the   symbolic 
figure  of  a  red  horse"',,  than  the  happy  times  of  Trajan  and 
Hadrian''  ? '     Improbable  as  this  interpretation  is  on  the 

13  See  Vitringa,  p.  319. 

14  VI.  4.  That  a  red  horse  and  a  sxvord  are  the  s}mbols  of  slaug-hter, 
the  commentators  unite  in  obsei-\dng'. 

15  P.  233.  '  If  a  man  were  called  to  fix  the  period  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  during'  wliich  the  condition  of  the  human  race  was  most  happy  and 
prosperous,  he  would,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  without  hesitation,  name  that 
which  elapsed  from  tlie  death  of  Domltian  to  the  accession  of  Commodus. 
The  vast  extent  of  the  Roman  empire  was  governed  by  absolute  power. 

Vol.  II.  G 


50  CHAP,  xxiir. 

veiyiikce'of  it,  it  may  boast  the  patronage  of  a  crowd  of 
exjioshors,  and  these  too  respectable.  Does  not  this  serve 
to  shew,  what  I  believe  is  the  fact  with  respect  to  the  ge- 
nerality of  commentators^  that  they  are  averse  to  the  toil 
of  examining  for  themselves,  and  are  often  ready  to  adopt 
the  opinions  of  their  predecessors  with  mibecomiiig  ser- 
vility ? 

By  Vitringa  the  seven  seals  are  far  otherwise  explained. 
The}'  are,  he  says,  the  seven  Greater  Events  or  important 
changes,  which  were  to  befall  the  church  even  to  the  con- 
summation of  all  things  ;  and  this  explication  of  them  has 
been  embraced  and  vindicated  by  a  number  of  very  early 
commentators"^,  as  well  as  by  many  learned  men,  who,  sub- 
sequent to  the  sera  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  have 
cultivated  the  study  of  the  prophetic  scriptures. 

The  following  account  of  the  seals,  which  is  principally 
extracted  from  the  invaluable  commentary  of  Vitringa, 
contains  only  a  statement  of  their  accomplishment ;  for  to 
enter  into  an  examination  of  their  respective  symbols, 
woiUd  be  to  depart  from  the  purpose  of  the  present  work. 
The  frst  seal  (orctells  the  brilliant  success  and  rapid  pro- 
pagation of  the  Gospel,  and  its  long  exemption  from  any 
extensive  persecution.  Commencing  from  the  publication 
of  the  prophecy,  it  reaches  from  the  reign  of  Nerva  to  that' 
of  Decius,  a  period  of  150  years.      The  second  denotes  the 

under  the  guidance  of  ^nrtue  and  wisdom.  The  armies  were  i-estrained 
by  the  firm  but  gentle  hand  of  four  successive  emperors,  wliose  charac- 
ter and  authority  commanded  involiuitary  respect.  The  forms  of  the 
civil  administration  were  carefully  presei-ved  by  Nerva,  Trajan,  Hadrian, 
and  the  Antonines,  who  delighted  in  the  image  of  liberty,  and  were 
pleased  with  considering  themselves  as  the  accountable  ministers  of  the 
laws.'     Decl.  and  Fall  of  the  Rom.  Em];,  vol.  I.  8vo.  1792,  p.  126. 

16  Among  others,  it  was  adopted  by  the  abbot  Joachim  in  tlie  12th  cen- 
tury, by  Pierre  d'  Olive  i:i  the  13th,  and  by  Ubertiims  de  Casalls  in  the 
14th.  These  apocahptical  writers  Viu-inga  entitles  wWe^W/f/ er />//,•  and 
certainly,  little  as  their  names  are  now  known,  each  of  them  chd,  in  bis 
own  time,  excite  in  the  world  a  degree  of  attention,  which  it  is  the  for- 
tune of  few  theologians  of  the  present  age  to  obtain.  See  Vitringa,  p.  oO, 
239  ;  and  Mosheim's  account  of  tJie  12th,  13th,  and  14th  centuries. 


CHAP.  XXIII.  51 

efforts  which  the  Pagans  afterwards  made  to  extirpate  that 
faith,  and  those  cruel  and  wide-extending  persecutions, 
raised  against  the  professors  of  it,  by  the  orders  of  Decius 
and  Valerian,  of  Dioclesian,  Galerius,  and  Maximin. 

With  respect  to  the  third  seal,  I  differ  from  all  former 
writers ;  and  it  is  therefore  necessary,  that  I  should  give 
an  account  of  its  symbols,  as  well  as  of  its  supposed  comple- 
tion. That  it  has  been  generally  misunderstood,  cannot  be 
denied,  for,  in  their  explication  of  it,  the  best  commentators 
differ  extremely.  Mede  and  Goodwin,  Grotius  and  Ham- 
mond, Lightfoot,  Waple,  and  Fleming,  Vitringa,  Benge- 
lius,  and  the  anonymous  French  author  of  the  Nexv  System 
of  the  Apocalypse^  Lowman,  Johnston,  and  Daubuz,  all 
differ  materially  from  each  other,  in  their  interpretations  of 
the  third  seal  ;  and  of  these  comnuntators,  the  twelve  first 
are  at  variance  with  each  other  with  respect  to  the  time. 
By  every  person,  then,  who  acknowleges  the  authority  of 
the  Apocalypse,  it  cannot  but  be  thought  a  point  of  some 
consequence,  to  ascertain  the  signification  of  a  prophecy, 
the  import  and  application  of  which  have  hitherto  been  a 
subject  of  such  general  dispute.  It  is  thus  expressed : 
And  -when  he  had  opened  the  third  seal^  I  heard  the  third 
beast  say^  Come  and  see.  And  I  beheld^  and  lo  a  black  horse  : 
and  he  that  sat  on  him  had  a  pair  of  balances  in  his  hand. 
And  I  heard  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four  beasts  say^  A 
measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny ^  and  three  measures  of  barley 
for  a  penny ;  and  see  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and  the  xvine^''. 

Since  the  end  of  the  second  seal  or  period,  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  fourth,  are  fixed  by  Vitringa'*,  those,   who 


17  VI.  5,  6.  In  V.  5,  it  ought  to  have  been  rendered,  I  heard  the  third 
living  creature  say  ;  and  in  v.  6,  /  heard  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four  living 
creatures.     It  is  thvis  in  the  versions  of  Waltefield  and  Doddridge. 

18  Vitringa  regards  the  third  seal  as  a  prediction  of  the  numerons  theo- 
logical contests,  which  occunx-d  in  the  period  referred  to  ;  of  the  conse- 
quent scarcity  of  spiritual  food,  that  is  to  say,  of  true  doctrines  ;  and  of 
the  care,  which  the  governors  of  the  church  took  accurately  to  weigh  in 
the  theological  balance  the  different  opinions  whicli  were  advanced,  and 
to  prescribe  a  correct  staiidai-d  of  faith. 


52  CHAP.  XXIII. 

adopt  this  opinion  respecting  the  seals  in  general,  of  course 
know  the  period  of  the  third  seal,  previously  to  their  exami- 
nation into  the  import  of  its  particular  symbols.  The  third 
seal  then  reaches  from  about  the  year  324,  when  Constan- 
tine  obtained  the  sole  possession  of  the  Roman  empire, 
and  the  rehgion  of  Jesus  ceased  to  be  attacked  by  pagan 
persecutors,  to  about  the  year  629,  when  the  power  of  the 
Saracens  arose,  and  they  first  waged  war  against  Chris- 
tianity and  the  emperor  of  the  East.  In  order,  therefore, 
to  ascertain  the  completion  of  the  third  seal,  or  the  im- 
portant events  predicted  to  happen  in  the  intervening  pe- 
riod, it  is  necessary  to  state  the  established  signification  of 
the  principal  symbols  ;  and  to  enquire,  by  a  minute  reference 
to  historj^,  whether  that  statement  aptly  corresponds  to  the 
general  character  and  the  leading  events  of  the  period,  of 
which  the  prophet  is  supposed  to  have  given  a  concise  de- 
scription. 

*  The  horse^  says  Dr.  Lancaster  in  his  S^aiibolical  Dic- 
tionary, '  is  the  symbol  of  war  and  conquest;'  and  '  black^ 
he  observes,  '  signifies  afflictions,  disasters,  and  anguish'^' 
The  period,  of  which  the  prophet  speaks,  must  then  have 
been  remarkable  for  the  greatness  of  the  conquests  made  in 
it;  and  it  must  have  been  more  than  usually  calamitous. 
But  there  is  another  prophetic  emblem,  which  will  more 
specifically  ascertain  the  character  of  the  period.  A  '  balance^ 
joined  with  symbols,  denoting  the  sale  of  corn  and  fruits  by 
weight,'  is,  observes  Dr.  Lancaster,  '  the  symbol  of  scarci- 
ty :  bread  by  rveight  being  a  curse  in  Lev.  xxvi.  26,  and  in 
Ezek.  iv.  16,  where  it  is  said,  Iivili  break  the  staff  of  bread 
in  'Jerusalem^  and  theij  shall  eat  bread  by  -weighty  and  rvith 
Qore,  and  they  shall  drink  water  by  measure^  and  astonish- 
ment. Which  curse  is  expressed  by  famine  in  the  same 
prophet,  ch.  v.  1 6,  and  ch.  xiv.  1 5^°.'    *  Grotius  and  others 

19  •  In  all  languages  black  signifies  any  thing  that  is  sad,  dismal,  cruel, 
and  unfortunate.'    Daubuz  in  loc. 

20  '  Very  many  agree  in  this,'  says  Vitringa,  '  that  tliis  seal  is  emble- 
matic  of  famine  and  a  scarcity  of  provisions.'    That  the  third  seal  is  pro- 


CHAP.  XXIII.  S3 

have,'  says  bp.  Newton,  observed  on  this  seal, '  that  a  chcenix 
of  corn,  the  measure  here  mentioned  was  a  man's  daily- 
allowance,  as  a  penny"  was  his  daily  wages  ;  so  that  if  his 
daily  labor  could  earn  no  more  than  his  daily  bread, 
without  other  provisions  for  himself  or  his  family,  corn 
must  needs  bear  a  very  high  price".'  To  the  same  pur- 
pose speaks  Mr.  Lowman  in  his  paraphrase.  '  In  the  times 
of  this  prophecy,  the  price  of  a  measure  of  wheat  shall  be 
a  penny,  and  three  measures  of  barley  shall  cost  the  same 
price  ;  the  whole  wages  of  a  man's  labor  for  a  day,  shall 
only  purchase  so  much  corn,  as  is  an  usual  daily  allowance  ; 


phetic  of  a  great  scarcity  of  provisions  is  observed,  among  otlier  commen- 
tators, by  Goodwin,  Lightfoot  and  Daubuz. 

21  That  is,  a  Roman  Denarixis.  ^ 

22  Notw^ithstandlng  this  observation  of  the  prelate,  he  seenft  unac- 
countably to  regard  the  tliird  seal  as  predictive  of  a  period  rather  of  plenty 
than  of  want ;  and  declares,  that  it  refers  to  the  two  and  forty  years,  which 
elapsed  from  the  accession  of  Septimus  Severus  to  the  death  of  Alexander 
Severus.  Tlie  propliecy  has,  also,  in  the  opinion  of  bp.  Newton,  a  par- 
ticular reference  to  the  conduct  of  those  two  emperors,  as  well  as  to  the 
state  of  the  Roman  empire  at  that  time.  AVhat  that  conduct,  and  that 
state  of  things,  was,  the  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Romian  Empire 
will  inform  us.  Whenever  Septimus  Severus  '  deviated  from  the  strict 
line  of  equity,  it  was  generally  in  favor  of  tlie  poor  and  oppressed. — The 
calm  of  peace  and  prosperity  was  once  more  experienced  in  tlie  pro- 
vinces ;  and  many  cities,  restored  by  tlic  munificence  of  Severus,  assumed 
the  title  of  his  colonies,  and  attested  by  public  monuments  their  gratitude 
and  felicity. — And  he  boasted  witli  a  just  pride,  tliat,  having  received  the 
empire  oppressed  with  foreign  and  domestic  wars,  he  left  it  established  in 
profound,  universal,  and  honorable  peace.'  Of  this  prince  it  is  related, 
though  the  account  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  exaggerated,  that  '  he  left 
in  the  public  granaries  a  provision  of  corn  for  seven  years,  at  the  rate  of 
75,000  inodii,  or  about  2500  quarters  a  day.'  In  the  reign  of  Alexander 
Severus,  the  provinces  •  flourished  In  peace  and  prosperity,  under  tlie 
administration  of  magistrates,  wlio  were  convinced  by  experience,  that 
to  deserve  the  love  of  the  subjects,  was  their  best  and  only  method  of 
obtaining  the  favor  of  their  sovereign.  Wliile  some  gentle  restraints 
were  imposed  on  the  innocent  luxury  of  the  Roman  people,  the  price  of 
provisions,  and  the  interest  of  money,  were  reduced  by  the  paternal  care 
of  Alexander.'  Vol.  I.  p.  197,  198,  246.  Whether  the  events  of  this  pe- 
riod do,  or  do  not  correspond,  to  the  emblems  of  the  third  seal,  cannot,  I 
think,  be  a  question  of  very  difficidt  decision. 


54.  CHAP.  XXIIl. 

SO  that  all  he  can  get  must  be  laid  out  on  the  very  neces- 
saries of  life,  without  any  provision  of  other  conveniences 
for  himself  or  family,  and  a  scarcity  of  oil  and  wine^^  will 
make  exactness  in  their  measures  very  necessary  also.' 

Both  the  period  of  the  third  seal  being  ascertained,  and 
the  import  of  the  prophetic  symbols  discovered,  it  will  not, 
I  apprehend,  be  veiy  difRcult  to  point  to  those  great  events, 
which  constitute  its  accomplishment.  It  announces,  that 
the  Roman  empire,  which  is  the  theatre  of  the  events  fore- 
told in  the  seven  seals,  shall,  during  the  predicted  period, 
of  about  300  years,  be  the  scene  of  mighty  conquests  ; 
it  declares,  that  the  political  horizon  shall  be  clouded  by 
calamitv,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Roman  empire 
shall  be  especially  afflicted  by  an  unaccustomed  scarcity  of 
provisions  :  and  it  refers  to  that  mighty  revolution  pro- 
duced by  the  successive  inundations  and  numerous  victo- 
ries of  the  Goths,  the  Vandals,  and  the  Huns,  and  the  other 


23  Vv'ine,  oil,  and  corn,  together  make,  says  D.mbuz  (in  Inc.),  'the 
whole  product  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth  necessaiy  for  huraan  life.'  Tliat 
oil  should  be  ranked  as  one  of  tlie  necessaries  of  life,  and  classed  among 
those  things,  the  want  of  which  would  be  most  severely  felt,  may  perhaps 
be  a  ground  of  wonder  to  the  mere  English  reader.  But  such  was  the  fact. 
Accordingly  we  find,  that  in  ditferent  writers  united  mention  is  often 
made  of  wine,  oil  and  earn.  Thus  in  his  account  of  a  scarcity  of  provi- 
sions Julius  Capitolinus  (In  Antonin.  Pio,  c.  8)  has  this  expression,  lini, 
old,  et  tritici  pcnuria ,-  and  the  following  are  the  words  of  Mr.  Gibbon 
(vol.  VIII.  p.  151),  when  speaking  of  the  Lombards,  '  the  business  of 
agriculture,  in  tlie  cidtivation  of  corn,  vines,  and  ohves,  was  exercised 
with  degenerate  skill  and  industiy.'  *  When  t'ae  luxurious  citizens  of 
Antioch  complained  of  the  high  price  of  poultry  and  fish,  Julian,'  as  the 
English  histoiiun  relates  (vol.  IV.  p.  14"),  '  ]5ublicly  declared,  that  a  fru- 
gal city  ouglit  to  be  satisfied  with  a  regular  supply  of  wine,  oil,  and 
bread,-'  and  Mr.  Gibbon  elsewhere  says  (vol.  V.  p.  281),  'in  the  manners 
of  antiquity  the  use  of  oil  was  indispensable  for  tlie  lamp,  as  well  as  for 
the  bath  ;  and  tlie  annual  tax,  which  was  imposed  on  Africa  for  the  bene- 
fit of  Rome,  amounted  to  the  weight  of  three  millions  of  pounds,  to  the 
measure,  perhaps,  of  threa  hundred  thousand  gallons.'  '  Oil,'  sa}s  the 
president  Goguet  (Origin  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  vol.  I.  p.  112),  *  is  at  least 
as  neccssarv  to  man  as  wine,  and  other  liquors  of  that  kind. — There  are 
few  arts  which  do  not  require  the  use  of  oil.'  The  ancients  'consumed 
vast  quantities  of  it,  and  put  it  to  many  more  uses  than  we  do  at  present.* 


CHAP.  XXIII.  55 

Barbarians  of  the  North  and  the  East;  Avho  dismembered 
the  Roman  empire,  who  served  as  a  scourge  in  the  hands 
of  God  to  chastise  the  vices  and  superstitions  of  the  Chris- 
tian world,  and  who,  by  destroying  a  very  large. part  of  the 
inhabitants  of  civilised  Europe  by  means  of  famine  and 
the  sword,  and  by  embracing  a  religion  of  mildness  and 
mercy,  which  they  little  understood,  and  were  little  dis- 
posed to  practise,  prepared  the  way  for  a  more  complete 
corruption  of  the  religion  of  Jesus,  for  the  conquests  of 
the  Saracens  and  the  Turks,  and  for  the  consequent  ex- 
tinction of  the  Christian  faith  in  Mahometan  countries. 

Having  advanced  an  interpretation  of  the  third  seal  alto- 
gether different  from  any  before  alleged,  it  is  incumbent  on 
me  to  bring  forward  historic  attestations  in  support  of  it. 
Thev  are  taken  from  the  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire^  a  work  of  incredible  diligence,  and  dis- 
playing uncommon  vigour  of  mind,  but  no  part  of  -which, 
v/e  are  certain,  was  intended  by  its  unbelieving  author  to 
attest  the  truth,  or  to  illustrate  the  meaning  of  prophecy. 
As  the  period,  characterised  by  the  emblems  of  the  third 
seal,  extends  over  three  centuries,  I  cannot  do  justice  to 
my  subject,  without  transcribing  a  long  chain  of  testimo- 
nies relating  to  the  different  parts  of  that  period.  But  I 
certainly  should  not  have  ventured  to  have  transcribed  them, 
were  not  the  subversion  and  dismemberment  of  the  Roman 
empire,  the  consequent  diminution  of  mankind,  and  the 
memorable  relapse  of  the  civilised  world  into  ignorance  and 
barbarism,  events,  in  themselves,  of  the  first  magnitude 
and  importance.  I  should,  however,  have  been  content  to 
have  referred  the  reader  to  Mr.  Gibbon's  History,  were  not 
the  facts,  illustrative  of  the  third  seal,  scattered  over  many 
hundred  pages  of  that  work. 

It  is  proper  to  premise,  that  the  evils  resulting  from  the 
devastation  of  armies,  and  the  dearth  of  provisions,  cannot 
all  at  once  ascend  to  any  very  considerable  height,  but  must 
be  gradual  in  their  progress  ;  and  it  may  be  remarked,  that, 
as  the  ravages  of  famine  often  spread  in  secrecy  and  silence, 
as  the  complaints  of  the  poor  are  frequently  stifled  by  the 


56  CHAP.    XXIII, 

arts  ot  policy  and  the  arm  of  power,  and  as  occurrences  of 
this  kind  are  totally  destitute  of  that  variety  and  splendor, 
which  characterise  the  operations  of  war  and  the  revolutions 
of  government,  they  are  commonly  passed  over  by  the  his- 
torian unexplained  and  unrecorded. 

As  early  as  the  year  331,  and  when  Constantine  filled  the 
throne  of  the  Roman  world,  the  Goths  '  passed  the  Da- 
nube, and  spread  terror  and  devastation  through  the  pro- 
vince of  Meesia.  To  oppose  the  inroad  of  this  destroying 
host,  the  aged  emperor  took  the  field  in  person  ;  but  on  this 
occasion  either  his  conduct  or  his  fortune  betrayed  the  glory 
which  he  had  acquired  in  so  many  foreign  and  domestic 
wars.'  About  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century,  '  the  Bar- 
barians of  the  land  and  sea,  the  Scots,  the'  Picts,  and  the 
Saxons,  spread  themselves,  with  rapid  and  irresistible  fury, 
from  the  wall  of  Antonius  to  the  shores  of  Kent.'  And 
the  Illyrian  provinces,  in  the  year  357^  and  in  the  reign 
of  Constantius,  the  son  of  Constantine,  were  exposed,  al- 
most without  defence,  to  the  light  cavalry  of  the  Barbari- 
ans ;  and  particularly  to  the  inroads  of  the  Quadi,  a  fierce 
and  powerful  nation.'  But  there  were  other  provinces,  in 
the  reign  of  the  son  of  Constantine^  still  more  oppressed 
by  the  depredations  of  the  Barbarians.  '  In  the  blind  fury 
of  civil  discord,  Constantius  had  abandoned  to  the  Barba- 
rians of  Germany  the  countries  of  Gaul,  v>fhich  still  ac- 
knowleged  the  authority  of  his  rival.  A  numerous  swari)i 
of  Franks  and  Alemanni  were  invited  to  cross  the  Rhine  by 
presents  and  promises,  by  the  hopes  of  spoil,  and  by  a  per- 
petual grant  of  all  the  territories  which  they  should  be  able 
to  subdue.  But  the  emperor,  v.ho  for  a  temporary  ser- 
vice had  thus  imprudently  provoked  the  rapacious  spirit  of 
the  Barbarians,  soon  discovered  and  kmiented  the  difficulty 
of  dismissing  these  formidable  allies,  after  they  had  tasted 
the  richness  "of  the  Roman  soil.  Regardless  of  the  nice 
distinction  of  lovalty  and  rebellion,  these  undisciplined  rob- 
bers treated  as  their  natural  enemies  all  the  subjects  of  the 
empire,  who  possessed  any  property  which  they  were  de- 
sirous of  acquiring.     Forty-five  flourishing  cities,  Tongres^ 


CHAP,  xxiir.  5JF 

Cologne,  Treves,  Worms,  Spires,  Strasburgh,  &c.  besides  a 
far  greater  number  of  towns  and  villages,  were  pillaged, 
and  for  the  most  part  reduced  to  ashes.— Fixing  dieir  in- 
dependent habitations  on  the  banks  of  rivers,  the  Rhine, 
the  Moselle,  and  the  Meuse,  they  secured  themselves 
against  the  danger  of  a  surprise,  by  a  rude  and  hasty  for- 
tification of  large  trees. — The  Alemanni  were  established 
in  the  modern  countries  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine  ;  the  Franks 
occupied  the  island  of  the  Batavians,  together  with  an  ex- 
tensive district  of  Brabant. — From  the  sources,  to  the 
mouth,  of  the  Rhine,  the  conquests  of  the  Germans  ex- 
tended above  forty  miles  to  the  West  of  that  river; — and 
the  scene  of  their  devastations  was  three  times  more  ex- 
tensive than  that  of  their  conquests.  At  a  still  greater  dis- 
tance the  open  towns  of  Gaul  were  deserted,  and  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  fortified  cities,  who  trusted  to  their  strength 
and  vigilance,  were  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  such 
supplies  of  corn,  as  they  could  raise  on  the  vacant  land 
within  the  inclosure  of  their  walls.  The  diminished  legi- 
ons, destitute  of  pay  and  provisions,  of  arms  and  discipline, 
trembled  at  the  approach,  and  even  at  the  name,  of  the  Bar- 
barians.' In  the  year  362,  it  may  be  added,  so  consider- 
able a  scarcity  of  corn  was  felt  in  Antioch  and  the  cities  of 
Syria,  as  to  generate  public  discontent. 

Thirty  thousand  Visigoths,  the  subjects  of  Hermanric, 
who  reigned  from  the  Euxine  to  the  Baltic,  and  over  the 
greatest  part  of  Germany  and  Scythia,  passed  the  Danube 
in  the  year  366 ;  '  and  the  provinces  of  Thrace  groaned 
under  the  weight  of  the  Barbarians.'  Whilst  the  maritime 
provinces  of  Gaul  and  Britain,  about  the  year  371,  were 
harassed  by  the  Saxons :  the  Quadi,  and  a  body  of  Sar- 
matian  cavalry,  invaded  Pannonia,  in  the  year  374,  and  in 
the  season  of  harvest ;  and  unmercifully  destroyed  every 
object  of  plunder  which  they  could  not  easily  transport^*.' 

24  Decl.  and  Fall  of  the  Rom,  Emp.  vol.  III.  p.  123,  195,  213  ;  vol.  IV, 
p.  147,  286—329. 

Vol.  II.  H 


58  CHAP.    XXIII. 

But  every  part  of  the  reign  of  Constantine  and  his  im- 
mediate successors  may  possibly  be  regarded  by  some  per- 
sons, as  too  early  for  the  commencement  of  the  third  seal  ; 
and  indeed  I  know  not,  that  there  is  any  necessity  for  con- 
cluding, that  the  events  foretold  in  the  second  seal  should 
be  immediately  followed  by  those  prefigured  in  the  third. 
Prophecies,  so  concisely  expressed  as  the  seals  are,  cannot 
possibly  describe  all  the  considerable  events  of  a  long  pe- 
riod, but  only  the  pi-incipal  characteristic  events.  Perhaps, 
then,  the  reign  of  Valens,  and  the  year  376,  may  form  the 
true  epoch,  when  the  events  of  the  third  seal  began  to  be 
accomplished.  In  this  memorable  year  the  Gothic  nation, 
constituting  nearly  a  million  of  persons,  being  driven  from 
their  ancient  seats  by  an  irresistible  torrent  of  other  Bar- 
barians, the  Huns  and  the  Alani,  were  permitted  by  the 
emperor  Valens  to  cross  the  Danube  :  but  fatal  were  the 
consequences  which  attended  that  permission,  for  this  im- 
mense body  of  Goths,  exasperated  by  the  ill  treatment  of 
the  Roman  officers,  did,  in  this  very  year,  rear  the  stand- 
ard of  a  revolt  in  the  provinces  of  the  empire,  and  defeat 
an  army  of  Romans. 

But  on  this  important  sera  I  shall  quote  the  ivords  of 
Mr.  Gibbon.  '  In  the  disastrous  period  of  the  fall  of  the 
Roman  empire,  which  may  justly  be  dated  froin  the  reign 
of  Valens^  the  happiness  and  security  of  each  individual 
were  personally  attacked ;  and  the  arts  and  labor  of  ages 
were  rudely  defaced  by  the  Barbarians  of  Scythia  and  Ger- 
many. The  invasion  of  the  Huns  precipitated  on  the  pro- 
vinces of  the  West  the  Gothic  nation,  which  advanced,  in 
less  than  forty  years,  from  the  Danube  to  the  Atlantic^  and 
opened  a  way,  by  the  success  of  their  arms,  to  the  inroads 
of  so  many  hostile  tribes,  more  savage  than  themselves.' 

It  was  in  the  year  376,  that  the  Roman  legions,  under  the 
command  of  Lupicinus,  one  of  the  governors  of  Thrace, 
were  completely  defeated  by  the  Goths.  '■  As  they  had 
been  deprived,  by  the  ministers  of  the  emperor,  of  the 
common  benefits  of  nature,  and  the  fair  intercourse  of  so- 
cial life,  they  retaliated  the  injustice  on  the  subjects  of  the 


CHAP.  XXIII.  *  %9 

empire  ;  and  the  crimes  of  Lupicinus  were  expiated  by  the 
ruin  of  the  peaceful  husbandmen  of  Thrace,  the  conflagra- 
tion of  their  villages,  and  the  massacre,  or  captivity,  of 
their  innocent  families.'  The  '  hardy  workmen,  who  la- 
bored in  the  gold  mines  of  Thrace,  for  the  emolument, 
and  under  the  lash,  of  an  unfeeling  master,'  having  joined 
the  Goths,  conducted  them,  '  through  the  secret  paths,  to 
the  most  sequestered  places,  which  had  been  chosen  to 
secure  the  inhabitants,  the  cattle,  and  the  magazines  of 
com. — The  imprudence  of  Valens  and  his  ministers  had 
introduced  into  the  heart  of  the  empire  a  nation  of  ene- 
mies ;  but  the  Visigoths  might  even  yet  have  been  recon- 
ciled, by  the  manly  confession  of  past  errors,  and  the  sin- 
cere performance  of  former  engagements.  These  healing 
and  temperate  measures  seemed  to  concur  with  the  timor- 
ous disposition  of  the  sovereign  of  the  East :  but,  on  this 
occasion  alone,  Valens  was  brave  ;  and  his  unseasonable 
bravery  was  fatal  to  himself  and  to  his  subjects.' 

Only  two  years  after  the  admission  of  the  Goths  into  the 
Roman  empire  happened  '  the  battle  of  Hadrianople,  which 
equalled,  in  the  actual  loss,  and  far  surpassed,  in  the  fatal 
consequences,  the  misfortune  which  Rome  had  formerly 
sustained  in  the  fields  of  Cannse. — ^.  bove  two-thirds  of  the 
Roman  army^'  were  destroyed ;'  and  the  emperor  Valens, 
who  commanded  it  in  person,  himself  perished  near  the 
field  of  battle.  '  The  tide  of  the  Gothic  inundation  rolled 
from  the  Walls  of  Hadrianople  to  the  subut-bs  of  Constan- 
tinople ; — and  the  Barbarians,  who  had  no  longer  any  re- 
sistance to  apprehend  from  the  scattered  and  vanquish- 
ed troops  of  the  East,  spread  themselves  over  the  face 
of  a  fertile  and  cultivated  country,  as  far  as  the  con- 
fines of  Italy,  and  the  Hadriatic  sea.  Their  mischievous 
disposition  was  shewn  in  the  destruction  of  everj  object, 
which  they  wanted  strength  to  remove,  or  wste  to  enjoy  ; 
and  they  often  consumed,  with  improvid^'^t  rage,  the  har- 
vests, or  the  granaries,  which  soon  akerwards  became  ne- 


25  About  40,000  Romans  fell. 


60  CHAP,  xxiii. 

cessary  for  their  own  subsistence.'  It  may  be  added,  '  that 
the  Goths,  after  the  defeat  of  Valens,  never  abandoned  the 
Roman  territory.' 

Their  devastations  had  a  double  operation.  The  con- 
sumption of  harvests,  the  conflagration  of  farms,  and  the 
massacre  of  husbandmen,  constituted  only  part  of  the  evil. 
'  The  uncertain  condition  of  their  property  discouraged  the 
subjects  of  Theodosius,'  the  successor  of  Valens,  '  from 
engaging  in  those  useful  and  laborious  undertakings,  which 
require  an  immediate  expence,  and  promise  a  slow  and  dis^ 
tant  advantage.  The  frequent  examples  of  ruin  and  deso- 
lation tempted  them  not  to  spare  the  remains  of  a  patri- 
mony, which  might,  every  hour,  become  the  prey  of  the 
rapacious  Goth.  And  the  mad  prodigality,  which  prevails 
in  the  confusion  of  a  shipwreck  or  a  siege,  may  serve  to 
explain  the  progress  of  luxury  amidst  the  misfortunes  and 
terrors  of  a  sinking  nation^**.' 

What  mighty  calamities  were  inflicted  on  the  Roman  em- 
pire, during  the  joint  reigns  of  Arcadius  and  Honorius, 
the  sons  and  successors  of  Theodosius,  every  man  is  ap- 
prised, who  is  acquainted  with  the  history  of  its  decline 
and  subversion.  On  this  point  there  can  be  no  dispute. 
To  the  great  events,  which  happened  during  their  adminis- 
tration, it  will,  therefore,  be  sufiicient  very  concisely  to  re- 
fer. During  the  reigns  of  the  feeble  sons  of  Theodosius, 
Greece  was  ravaged  and  over-run  by  the  Goths  ;  Spain  and 
Gaul  were  invaded  aitd  occupied  by  various  tribes  of  fierce 
Barbarians  ;  and  Italy  and  Rome  were  plundered  bv  Ala- 
ric,  the  commander  of  the  Gothic  armies.  From  the  long 
account^''  of  these  varied  devastations,  I  shall  cite  only  two 
short  extracts.  '  The  banks  of  the  Rhine  were  crowned, 
Uke  those  of  the  Tyber,  with  elegant  houses  and  well  cul- 
tivated fatms. — This  scene  of  peace  and  plenty  was  sud- 
denly changed,  into  a  desert ;  and  the  prospect  of  the  smoak- 
ing  ruins   could  alone  distinguish  the   solitude  of  nature 


26  Vol,  IV.  p.  340—443  ;  vol.  V.  p.  88. 

27  It  extends  in  vol  V.  from  p.  176  to  p.  362. 


CHAP.    XXIII.  61 

from  the  desolation  of  man^^.'  The  following  account  of 
the  misfortunes  of  Spain  is  in  the  language  of  its  most  elo- 
quent historian,  Mariana.  "  The  irruption  of  these  nations 
was  followed  by  the  most  dreadful  calamities :  as  the  Bar- 
barians exeixised  their  indiscriminate  cruelty  on  the  for- 
tunes of  the  Romans  and  the  Spaniards  j  and  ravaged  with 
equal  fury  the  cities  and  the  open  country.  The  progress 
of  famine  reduced  the  miserable  inhabitants  to  feed  on  the 
flesh  of  their  fellow-creatures. — Pestilence  soon  appeared, 
the  inseparable  companion  of  famine  ;"  and  "  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  people  was  swept  away*'." 

Seven  years  after  the  death  of  Honoi-ius,  Africa  became 
the  theatre  of  the  most  terrible  devastations.     '  The  long 
and  narrow  tract  of  the  African  coast  was  filled  with  fre- 
quent monuments    of    Roman    art  and  magnificence. — A 
simple  reflection  will  impress  every  thinking  mind  with  the 
clearest  idea  of  fertility  and  cultivation :    the  country  was 
extremely  populous  ;  the  inhabitants  reserved  a  liberal  sub- 
sistence for  their  own  use  ;  and  the  annual  exportation,  par- 
ticularly of  wheat,  was  so  regular  and  plentiful,  that  Africa 
deserved  the  name  of  the  common  granary  of  Rome  and  of 
mankind.     On  a  sudden,  the  seven  fruitful  provinces,  from 
Tangier  to  Tripoli,  were  overwhelmed  by  the  invasion  of 
the  Vandals. — The  Vandals,  where  they  found  resistance, 
seldom  gave  quarter  ;  and  the  deaths  of  their  valiant  coun- 
trymen were  expiated  by  the  ruin  of  the  cities  under  whose 
walls  they   had  fallen.'     About  the  year  442,  '  the  whole 
breadth  of  Europe,  as  it  extends  above  500  miles  from  the 
Euxine  to  the  Hadriatic,  was  at  once  invaded,  and  occupied, 
and  desolated,  by  the  myriads  of  Barbarians  whom  Attila 
led  into  the  field. — The  words,  the  most  expressive  of  total 
extirpation  and  erasure,  are  applied  to  the  calainities  which 
they  inflicted    on   seventy  cities   of  the   Eastern   empire.' 
And,  in  a  short  time,  the  situation  of  Italy  itself  became 
equally  deplorable  Vv'ith  that  of  t'ne  provinces.     '  Since  the 
nge  of  Tiberius,  the  decay  of  agriculture  had  been  felt  in 


?8  Vol.  V.  p.  S^.T  ^9  Gibbon,  vol.  V.  p.  352. 


62  '  .  CHAP.    XXIII, 

Italy  ;  and  it  was  a  just  subject  of  complaint,  that  the  life 
of  the  Roman  people  depended  on  the  accidents  of  the 
winds  and  waves.  In  the  division  and  the  decline  of  the 
empire,  the  tributary  provinces  of  Egypt  and  Africa  were 
withdrawn ;  the  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  continually 
diminished  with  the  means  of  subsistence  ;  and  the  country 
was  exhausted  by  the  irretrievable  losses  of  war,  famine, 
and  pestilence.  St.  Ambrose  has  deplored  the  ruin  of  a 
populous  district,  which  had  been  once  adorned  with  the 
flourishing  cities  of  Bologna,  Modena,  Regium,  and  Pla- 
centia.  Pope  Gelasius  was  a  subject  of  Odoacer ;  and  he 
affirms,  with  strong  exaggeration,  that  in  iEmilia,  Tuscany, 
and  the  adjacent  provinces,  the  human  species  was  almost 
extirpated^".' 

'  While  the  kingdoms  of  the  Franks  and  Visigoths  were 
established  in  Gaul  and  Spain,  the  Saxons  atchieved  the 
.conquest  of  Britain.'  But  it  maintained,  alone  and  unaided, 
'  a  long,  a  vigorous,  though  an  unsuccessful  struggle,  against 
the  formidable  pirates,  who,  almost  at  the  same  instant, 
assaulted  the  Northern,  the  Eastern,  and  the  Southern 
coasts.'  And  '  after  a  war  of  an  hundred  years,  the  inde- 
pendant  Britons  still  occupied  the  whole  extent  of  the 
Western  coast,  from  the  wall  of  Antoninus  to  the  extreme 
promontary  of  Cornwall. — Resistance,  if  it  cannot  avert, 
must  increase,  the  miseries  of  conquest ;  and  conquest  has 
never  appeared  more  dreadful  and  destructive  than  in  the 
hands  of  the  Saxons.'  Such,  indeed,  was  the  destruction 
of  the  natives,  that  '  the  Saxon  kingdoms  displayed  the 
face  of  recent  discovery  and  cultivation :  the  towns  were 
small,  the  villages  were  distant;  the  husbandry  was  languid 
and  unskilful ;  four  sheep  were  equivalent  to  an  acre  of 
the  best  land  ;'  and  '  an  ample  space  of  wood  and  morass 
was  resigned  to  the  vjigue  dominion  of  nature^'.' 

In  another  part  of  the  globe  the  Bulgarians  displayed  an 

30  Vol.  VI.  p.  20,  52,  53,  234. 

31  VoL  VI.  p.  3r9,  386,  388,  392,  395. 


CHAP.    XXIII.  63 

equal  degi-ee  of  ferocity.  *  The  hopes  or  fears  of  the  Bar- 
barians ;  their  intestine  union  or  discord  ;  the  accident  of 
a  frozen  or  shallow  stream ;  the  prospect  of  harvest  or  vin- 
tage ;  the  prosperity  or  distress  of  the  Romans,  were  the 
causes  which  produced  the  uniform  repetition  of  annual 
visits,  tedious  in  the  narrative  and  destructive  in  the 
event.'  The  year  539  *  was  marked  by  an  invasion  of 
the  Huns  or  Bulgarians,  so  dreadful,  that  it  almost  effaced 
the  memory  of  their  past  inroads.  They  spread  from  the 
suburbs  of  Constantinople  to  the  Ionian  gulph,  destroyed 
32  cities  or  castles, — and  repassed  the  Danube,  dragging  at 
their  horses  heels  120,000  of  the  subjects  of  Justinian.  In 
a  subsequent  inroad  they  pierced  the  wall  of  the  Thracian 
Chersonesus,  extirpated  the  habitations  and  the  inhabitants, 
— and  returned  to  their  companions,  laden  with  the  spoils  of 
Asia.'  And  Procopius  has  confidently  affirmed,  that,  in  a 
reign  of  32  years,  each  annual  inroad  of  the  Barbarians 
consumed  200,000  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Roman  empire. 
The  entire  population  of  Turkish  Europe,  which  nearly 
corresponds  with  the  provinces  of  Justinian,  would  per- 
haps be  incapable  of  supplying  six  millions  of  persons,  the 
result  of  this  incredible  estimate^*.' 

Justinian  recovered  Italy  from  the  Goths,  and  Africa  from 
the  Vandals ;  but  the  recovery  of  lost  provinces  was  some- 
times as  destructive  to  agriculture  and  to  mankind,  as  the 
original  irruptions  of  the  Barbarians.  '  From  his  new  ac- 
quisitions, Justinian  expected  that  his  avarice,  as  well  as 
pride,  should  be  richly  gratified.'  In  consequence  the  most 
dreadful  rebellions  agitated  Africa.  For  the  troubles 
of  Africa,  I  neither  have  nor  desire  another  guide  than 
Procopius,  whose  eye  contemplated  the  image,  and  whose 
ear  collected  the  reports,  of  the  memorable  events  of  his 
own  times.'  He  '  has  confidently  affirmed,  that  five  mil- 
lions of  Africans  were  coiisumed  by  the  wars  and  govern- 
ment of  the  emperor  Justinian.     The  series  of  the  African 

32  Vol.  VII.  p.  282,  284. 


64  CHAP.    XXIII. 

history  attests  this  melancholy  tfuth-'^.'  After  the  recovery 
of  Italy,  Justinian  might  dictate  benevolent  edicts,  and 
Narses  might  second  his  wishes  by  the  restoration  of 
cities. — ^But  the  power  of  kings  is  most  effectual  to  destroy : 
and  the  twenty  years  of  the  Gothic  war  had  consummated 
the  distress  and  depopulation  of  Italy.  As  early  as  the 
fourth  campaign,  under  the  discipline  of  Belisarius  himself, 
50,000  laborers  died  of  hunger  in  the  iiarroro  region  of 
Misenum.  A  still  greater  number  was  consumed  by  famine 
in  the  southern  provinces,  without  the  Ionian  gulph.  Acorns 
were  used  in  the  place  of  bread.  Procopius  had  seen  a  de- 
serted orphan  suckled  by  a  she-goat.  Seventeen  passengers 
were  lodged,  murdered,  and  eaten,  by  two  women,  who 
were  detected  and  slain  by  the  eighteenth. — A  strict  exami- 
nation of  the  evidence  of  Procopius  would  swell  the  loss  of 
Italy  above  the  total  sum  of  her  present  inhabitants^"*.' 

In  the  year  542  a  terrible  plague  arose,  which  raged  with 
such  fury,  '  that  many  cities  of  the  East  were  left  vacant, 
and  in  several  districts  of  Italy  the  harvest  and  the  vintage 
withered  on  the  ground.  The  triple  scourge  of  war,  pes- 
tilence, and  famine,  afflicted  the  subjects  of  Justinian,  and 
his  reign  is  disgraced  by  a  visible  decrease  of  the  human 
species,  which  has  never  been  repaired  in  some  of  the  fair- 
est countries  of  the  globe^'.' 

Such  was  the  reign  of  Justinian.  Whether  husbandry 
was  likely  to  revive,  and  plenty  to  return,  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  his  feebler  successor,  the  following  passage 
respecting  that  prince  will  ascertain.  '  The  annals  of  the 
second  Justin  are  marked  with  disgrace  abroad  and  misery 
at  home.  In  the  West,  the  Roman  empire  was  afflicted  by 
the  loss  of  Italy,  the  desolation  of  Africa,  and  the  conquests 
of  the  Persians.  Injustice  prevailed  both  in  the  capital  and 
the  provinces  ;  the  rich  trembled  for  their  property,  the 
poor  for  their  safety.'     Italy,  however,  omitted  not  to  ap- 

33  Vol.  VII.  p.  346,  347,  353.  Africa  was  invaded  by  the  army  of  Jus- 
tinian in  the  year  533. 

34  Vol    VII.  p.  400.  35  Vol.  VII.  p.  423. 


CHAP*    XXIIIi  ^5 

ply  to  the  emperors  for  relief.  From  this  country,  indeed, 
they  were  incessantly  tormented  by  tales  of  misery  and  de- 
mands of  succor;'  and  the  language  of  Rome  was,  "  If 
you  are  incapable  of  delivering  us  from  the  sword  of  the 
Lombards,  save  us  at  least  from  the  calamity*  of  famine." 
Though  the  depopulation  of  the  capital  of  Italy  was  con- 
stant and  visible,  'yet  the  nmnber  of  citizens  still  exceeded 
the  measure  of  subsistence  ;  their  precarious  food  was  sup- 
plied from  the  harvests  of  Sicily  or  Egypt ;  arid  the  frequent 
repetition  of  famine  betrays  the  inattention  of  the  emperor 
to  a  distant  province^^' 

The  new  circumstances  of  degradation  and  depression, 
into  which  a  considerable  part  of  mankind  were  thrown^ 
gave  a  severe  check  to  the  ardor  of  industry.  Hence  the 
operations  of  agriculture  became  more  languid ;  its  produce 
more  scanty  and  uncertain.  '  According  to  the  maxims  of 
ancient  war,  the  conqueror  became  the  lawful  master  of  the 
enemy  whom  he  had  subdued  and  spared :  and  the  fruitful 
cause  of  personal  slavery,  which  had  been  almost  suppressed 
by  the  peaceful  sovereignty  of  Rome,  was  again  revived 
and  multiplied  by  the  perpetual  hostilities  of  the  indepen- 
dent Barbarians.  The  Goth,  the  Burgundian,  or  the  Frank, 
who  returned  from  a  successful  expedition,  dragged  after 
him  a  long  train  of  sheep,  of  oxen,  and  of  human  captives, 
whom  he  treated  with  the  same  brutal  contempt".' 

Whether  the  expeditions  of  the  Barbarians  succeeded  or 
miscarried,  they  were  almost  equally  ruinous  to  the  peace- 
ful labors  of  the  husbandman.  To  illustrate  their  nature 
and  effects,  a  short  account  shall  be  given  of  the  invasion  of 
Languedoc  in  the  year  586  by  the  army  of  the  king  of  Bur- 
gundy. '•  The  troops  of  Burgundy,  Berrj  •,  Auvergne,  and 
the  adjacent  territories,  were  excited  hy  the  hopes  of  spoil. 
They  marched,  without  discipline,  under  the  banners  of 
German,  or  Gallic,  counts  ;  their  attack  was  feeble  and  un- 
successful ;  but  the  friendly  and  hostile  provinces  were  deso- 
lated with  indiscriminate  rage.  The  corn-fields,  the  villages, 


t 


36  Vol.  VIII.  p.  133,  142,  159.  37  Vol.  VI   p,  359. 

Vol.  II  I 


6^  CHAP.  XXII r. 

the  churches  themselves,  were  consumed  by  fire ;  the  inha- 
bitants were  massacred  Or  dragged  into  captivity ;  and,  in 
the  disorderly  retreat,  5000  of  these  inhuman  savages  were 
destroyed  by  hunger  or  intestine  discord^^.' 

Often  exposed  to  a  siege  or  to  a  blockade,  cities  frequent- 
ly became  the  theatres  of  the  most  dreadful  famines.  Some 
facts  attendant  on  some  of  the  sieges  of  Rome  will  illustrate 
the  assertion.  When  environed  by  the  army  of  Alaric,  it 
experienced  '  the  horrid  calamities  of  famine,'  at  a  time 
when  it  may  fairly  be  supposed  to  have  contained  twelve 
hundred  thousand  inhabitants.  The  daily  allowance  of 
three  pounds  of  bread  was  reduced  to  one-half,  to  one-third, 
to  nothing ;  and  the  price  of  corn  still  continued  to  rise  in 
a  rapid  and  extravagant  proportion, — The  food  the  most 
repugnant  to  sense  and  imagination,  the  aliments  the  most 
unwholesome  and  pernicious  to  the  constitution,  Avere  ea- 
gerly devoured,  and  fiercely  disputed,  by  the  rage  of  hunger. 
Even  mothers  are  said  to  have  tasted  the  flesh  of  their 
slaughtered  infants.  Many  thousands  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Rome  expired  in  their  houses,  or  in  the  streets,  for  want  of 
sustenance. — And  the  miseries  of  famine  were  succeeded 
and  aggravated  by  a  pestilential  disease.'  This  was  in  the 
year  408.  In  the  year  472,  the  principal  part  of  Rome,, 
which  lay  on  the  Tuscan  side  of  the  Tyber,  was  besieged 
by  Ricimer ;  and  the  public  distress  was  prolonged  '  by  a 
resistance  of  three  months,  which  produced  the  concomitant 
evils  of  famine  and  pestilence.'  In  the  year  537,  the  me- 
tropolis of  the  Western  empire  was  besieged  by  150  000 
Goths  ;  a'nd,  as  the  sitge  continued  more  than  a  year,  the 
people,  notwithstanding  the  harvests  of  Campania  and  Tus- 
cany had  been  '  forcibly  swept  for  the  use  of  the  city, was 

exposed  to  the  miseries  of  scarcity,  unwholesome  food 
and  contagious  disorders.'  But  '  if  any  credit  be  due  to 
an  intelligent  spectator,  one  third  at  least  of  the  Gothic 
*  host  was  destroyed,  in  frequent  and  bloody  combats  under 
the  walls  of  the  city.     The  bad  hmc  and  pernicious  quali- 

38  Vol.  VI.  p.  374. 


CHAP.    XXIII,  67 

ties  of  the  summer  air  might  ah-eady  be  imputed  to  the 
decay  of  agriculture  and  population ;  and  the  evils  of  fa- 
mine and  pestilence  were  aggravated  by  their  own  licentious- 
ness, and  the  unfriendly  disposition  of  the  country.'  Only 
nine  years  after  this,  Rome  was  again  besieged  by  the 
Goths,  under  the  command  of  Totila,  and  was  destined  to 
sustain  still  severer  sufferings.  '  The  medimnus,  or  fifth 
part  of  the  quarter  of  wheat,  was  exchanged  for  7  pieges 
of  gold ;  50  pieces  were  given  for  an  ox,  a  rare  and  acci- 
dental prize ;'  and  '  the  progress  of  famine  enhanced  this 
exorbitant  value. — A  tasteless  and  unwholesome  mixture, 
in  which  the  bran  thrice  exceeded  the  quantity  of  flour,  ap- 
peased the  hunger  of  the  poor:  they  were  gradually  reduced 
to  feed  on  dead  horses,  dogs,  cats,  and  mice,  and  eagerly 
to  snatch  the  grass,  and  even  the  nettles,  which  grew 
among  the  ruins  of  the  city''.' 

That  the  scarcity  of  corn,  wine,  and  oil,  as  well  as  of 
other  provisions,  must  have  been  great,  must  have  been 
general,  must  have  been  permanent  in  the  Roman  empire, 
at  a  period  when  the  devastations  of  the  Northern  nations 
were  thus  violent,  thus  extensive,  and  thus  frequently  re- 
peated, can  be  doubted  by  no  man,  who  is  acquainted  with 
the  nature  and  operations  of  agriculture,  or  with  the  cir- 
cumstances that  encourage  a  freedom  of  commercial  inter- 
course, or  who  is  accustomed  to  trace  the  connexion  between 
cause  and  effect. 

After  having  so  long  detained  the  reader  in  the  contem- 
plation of  history,  I  shall  dismiss  the  observations  on  the 
third  seal  by  noticing  an  objection,  which  may  not  improba- 
bly be  urged  against  the  alleged  interpretation  of  it.  Though 
probably  it  will  be  readily  admitted,  that  the  countries  con- 
stituting the  Roman  empire  were,  between  the  reign  of 
Constantine  and  the  commencement  of  the  seventh  century, 
in  a  peculiar  degree  the  theatres  of  conquests  and  devasta- 
tions, and  that  no  other  period  of  history,  of  the  same 
length,  can  by  any  means  be   found,    in  which   this   was 

39  Vol  V.  p.  291 ;  vol.  VI.  p.  217;  vol.  VII.  p.  235,  237,  243,  263. 


68  CHAP.   XXIII- 

equally  the  case ;  yet  it  may  be  objected,  that  a  scarcity  of 
provisions  is  a  circumstance  of  too  general  a  nature,  to  be 
regarded  as  characteristic  of  any  particular  period.  In 
reply  to  this,  I  observe,  that  though  there  have  undoubtedly 
been  other  seras,  when  an  alarming  deficiency  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life  has  been  experienced,  and  that  through  a  great 
extent  of  country ;  yet  there  are  solid  grounds  for  conclud- 
ing, that,  from  the  earliest  annals  of  history  to  the  present 
time,  there  never  was  any  period^  in  which  the  inhabitants 
of  the  countries,  comprehended  under  the  Roman  empire, 
sustained  so  frequent  or  so  general  a  want  of  provisions,  as 
in  that  time,  which  is  supposed  to  be  referred  to  by  the 
symbols  of  the  third  seal.  The  numerous  extracts,  which 
I  have  been  tempted  to  introduce  from  Mr.  Gibbon,  will  go 
far  to  prove  this  assertion ;  but,  in  order  to  furnish  more 
complete  ^  vidence  of  it,  it  will  be  necessary  briefly  to  allege 
some  facts  and  reasons,  relative  both  to  the  centuries  which 
preceded^  and  those  which  followed^  the  period  which  the 
prophet  is  thought  to  describct 

Whilst  the  Roman  empire  remained  entire ;  whilst  its 
frontiers  were  guarded  by  the  strength  of  its  fortifications 
and  the  valor  of  its  legionaries  j  the  labors  of  agriculture 
pursued  their  tranquil  and  accustomed  course ;  the  rivers, 
the  seas,  and  the  excellent  roads  that  ran  through  the  pro- 
vinces of  the  empire,  united  to  secure  a  constant,  and  gene- 
rally a  sufficient,  supply  of  provisions  for  all  its  various 
inhabitants  ;  the  rich  harvests  of  Egypt  and  Africa  yielded 
an  abundance,  greatly  superior  to  their  domestic  wants  j 
and,  to  use  the  words  of  Mr.  Cibbon'*°,  '  the  accidental 
scarcity,  in  any  single  province,  was  immediately  relieved 
by  the  plenty  of  its  more  fortunate  neighbors*'.'     It  may  be 

40  Vol.  I.  p.  86.  During-  the  reign  of  Gallienus,  it  is  true,  an  extreme 
scarcity  of  provisions  was  felt  throug-hout  the  Roman  empire.  But  it  was 
comparitively  of  short  continuance;  and  the  indolent  Gallienus  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  series  of  great  princes,  under  whom  order  prevailed,  and 
agiicidtiu'c  flourished. 

41  '  In  an  extensive  corn-country,  between  all  the  different  pai'ts  of 
which  there  is  a  free  commerce  and  commimic alien,  the  scarcity  occa- 


CHAP.  XXIII.  ,      69 

added,  that,  antecedently  to  the  accession  of  Constantine, 
the  dominions  of  Rome  had  not  been  regularly  divided  into 
the  empires  of  the  East  and  the  West.  Consequently  the 
husbandman  and  the  farmer  \\  ere  not  weighed  down  by  so 
intolerable  a  pressure  of  taxes  :  and,  as  but  one  court  exist' 
ed^  that  host  of  idlers  and  prodigals,  who  constitute  or  sur- 
round a  court,  were  far  less  numerous  ;  and  those  who  were 
drawn  aside  from  the  plough,  the  forge  and  the  loom,  to 
supply  the  luxuries,  and  to  minister  to  the  amusements,  of 
the  prince  and  his  dependents,  occupied  a  narrower  space  in 
the  ranks  of  society. 

To  evince  that  those  who  inhabited  the  countries  of  the 
Roman  empire  were  not  afflicted  by  so  severe  a  scarcity  of 
corn  and  food,  subsequent  to  the  sera  of  the  third  seal,  one 
decisive  fact  may  be  alleged.  In  the  8th,  the  9th,  and  the 
10th  centuries,  they  certainly  amounted  not  to  one  half, 
and  probably  not  to  one  third,  of  the  number  of  those,  who 
lived  when  the  mighty  fabric  of  Roman  greatness  was  un- 
shaken, and  consequently  a  much  smaller  quantity  of  pro- 
visions was  sufficient  for  their  subsistence.  And  there  are 
obvious  reasons,  why,  for  a  number  of  past  centuries,  no 
general  and  permanent  scarcity  of  provisions  has  been  felt. 
The  establishment  of  laws,  and  the  stability  of  govern- 
ments, have  given  protection  to  property,  and  confidence  to 
industr)%  Nations  have  been  far  less  exposed  to  the  rava- 
ges of  foreign  conquest ;  and,  during  the  prosecution  of 
war,  its  horrors  have  been  alleviated  by  the  superior  mild- 
ness of  modern  times.  Vast  woods  have  been  felled,  and 
immense  tracks  of  waste  land  cultivated.  Agriculture  has 
received  a  long  succession  of  improvements ;  and  commerce 
has  opened  a  way  for  the  interchange  of  its  produce  be- 
tween the  most  distant  countries  of  the  globe. 

The  account  of  thetwo  next  seals,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
two  first,  is  taken  from  Vitringa.  The  fourth  seal  predicts 
the  conquests   and  devastations  of  the   Saracens  and  the 


sioned  by  the  most  unfavorable  seasons  can  never  be  so  gi-eat  as  to  produce 
a  famine.'     Smith's  Weahh  of  Nations,  7th  ed.  vol.  II.  p.  2^5. 


70  CHAP.  XXIII. 

Turks**,  by  whose  instrumentality  Divine  Providence  se- 
verely punished  the  corrupt  morals  and  abject  superstitions 
of  the  degenerate  Christians  of  that  time,  and  particularly 
those  of  the  East*^^ ;  and  by  whose  progress  the  Deity  per- 
mitted, not  onl)^  that  a  large  portion  of  the  globe  should  be 
involved  in  wretchedness,  and  be  in  a  great  degree  depopu- 
lated ;  but  that  it  should  also  cease  to  profess  the  belief, 
and  to  enjoy  the  benefits,  of  Christianity**,  though  it  had 
been  long  planted  there  and  firmly  established.  Those  bar- 
barous persecutions,  which  have  been  kindled  by  the  anti- 
christian  church,  the  fifth  seal  represents  :  it  plainly  announ- 
ces that  those  who  should  stand  forward  in  defence  of  Evan- 
gelic truth  should  be  exposed  to  them  for  a  very  long  dura- 
tion of  time ;  and,  including  the  Albigenses  and  Wal- 
denses,  the  Bohemian  Brethren  and  French  Protestants,  as 
well  as  a  crowd  of  contemporary  sufferers  that  might  be 
enumerated,  it  comprehends  the  far  greater  number  of 
those  who  have  ever  perished  in  the  cause  of  religion.  It 
embraces  the  period  which  runs  from  the  13th  centuiy  to 
the  fall  of  the  antichristian  empire.     As  this  great  catas- 

42  I  know  not  tliat  this  opinion  has  been  adopted  by  a  single  English 
commentator.  It  is,  however  common  on  the  continent.  ♦  Sigillum  Quar- 
tura,'  says  Wolfius  C CurucPhilologicce,  in  loc),  •  de  Saracenis  et  Turcis 
MULT  I  accipiunt.' 

43  Superstitious  as  was  the  worsliip  which  prevailed  in  the  West,  that 
of  the  Eastern  Christians  was,  says  Vitringa,  at  this  time  far  more  cor- 
rupt.    In  Apoc.  p.  418. 

44  Not  only  was  Christianity  once  established  in  Macedonia  and  Greece, 
in  S3'ria,  Armenia,  and  Asia  Minor,  in  Lybia,  Egypt  and  Abyssinia ;  but 
it  had  at  one  time  made  a  considerable  progress  in  tlie  islands  of  Socotra 
and  Ceylon,  in  Iberia  and  Thrace,  in  Arabia  and  Persia,  in  Tartary,  China, 
and  Hindostan.  But  at  present,  among  the  natives  of  all  these  coimtries, 
the  knowlege  of  Christianity  is  either  completely  obliterated,  or  it  is  ob- 
scurely professed  by  a  scanty  portion  of  illiterate  believers.  The  religion 
of  Mahomet,  on  the  contrary,  in  almost  evei'y  one  of  these  countries,  either 
bears  an  undisputed  sway,  or  has  acquired  very  numerous  proselytes. 
See  Mosheim'  Ecd.  Hist.  (vol.  I.  p.  199,  274,  275:  vol.  II.  p.  2,  43,  179), 
and  the  Decl.  and  Fall  of  the  Rovi-  Emp.  (vol.  VIII.  p.  339—347).  Early 
in  the  5th  century,  there  were,  says  Sir  I.  Newton,  in  Africa  alone  about 
700  bishoprics.     Ob.i.  on  Dan.  p.  298. 


CHAP.    XXIII.  71 

trophe  is  yet  future,  we  appear  to  be  now  living  under  the 
fifth  seal,  though  near  the  close  of  it,  and  when  the  fury 
of  religious  zeal  has  almost  spent  its  force. 

The  next  of  these  prophecies,  which  is  to  be  a  more  par- 
ticular object  of  enquiry,  is  thus  sublimely  expressed :  and 
I  beheld  when  he  had  opened  the  sixth  seal^  and  lo^  there  luas 
a  great  Earthquake ;  and  the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  of 
hair,  and  the  moon  became  as  blood;  and  the  stars  of  heaven 
fell  unto  the  earth,  even  as  a  Jig-tree  casteth  her  untimelij 
figs  ivhen  she  is  shaken  of  a  mighty  xvind.  And  the  heaven 
departed  as  a  scroxvl  ivhen  it  is  rolled  together ;  and  every 
mowitain  and  island  xuere  moved  out  of  their  places.  And 
the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  great  men,  and  the  rich  men, 
and  the  chief  captains,  and  the  mighty  men,  and  every  bond- 
man, and  every  freeman,  hid  themselves  in  the  dens,  and  i?i 
the  rocks  of  the  mountains ;  and  said  to  the  mountaijts  and 
rocks.  Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that 
sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the  xvrath  of  the  Lamb:  for 
the  great  day""^  of  his  xvrath  is  C07ne  ;  and  xvho  shall  be  able 
to  stand  ^  P 

The  expressions  of  this  seal,  says  Dr.  Wall,  *  are  always 
the  emblems  of  kings,  emperors,  governments,  falling.' 
Not  only  does  a  part  of  this  striking  passage  bear,  on  the 
very  face  of  it,  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  prediction  of 
Jesus ;  but  it  may  be  regarded  as  i-epresenting  the  very 
same  events  in  a  more  expanded  form.  What  is  said  here, 
that  there  xvas  a  Great  Earthquake,  signifies,  says  Vitringa. 
*  that  there  would  be  a  mighty  Revolution,  which  v/ould 
happen  in  some  great  empire,  or  rather  in  the  world,  or 
some  eminent  part  of  it,  which  is  treated  of  in  this  pro- 
phecy.' Now  this  part  of  the  world,  he  observes,  is  Eu- 
rope. '  Under  the  emblem  of  the  heaven  being  rolled  toge- 
ther is  signified  a  thorough  change  or  abolition  of  the  whole 
system  both  political  and  ecclesiastical. — For  in  the  pro- 
phetic style,  as  I  just  now  observed,  the    whole   body  of 

45  On  the  expression,  the  Great  Day  of  God,  see  tlie  observations  from 
Lowtli,  Daubuz,  and  Mede,  in  p.  261. 
16  VI.  12—17. 


72  CHAP.  XXIII. 

those  who  have  rule  and  authority,  both  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical, are  included  under  the  name  of  heaven.^  And,  in 
another  place,  Vitringa  says,  this  seal  foretells,  '  that  Great 
Commotions  would  suddenly  arise,  both  in  the  empire  of 
Papal  Rome,  and  in  the  other  kingdoms  and  republics 'of 
Europe,  God  being  about  to  raise  up  by  his  providence 
avengers,  who  would  undertake  the  cause  of  the  afflicted.' 
Nothing,  says  this  judicious  commentator,  can  be  more  evi- 
dent than  this  explication  of  the  sixth  seal,  if  we  have  com- 
pared it  with  the  seventh  vial,  which,  in  almost  the  same 
words,  foretells  the  destruction  of  the  antichristian  empire. 
The  sixth  seal  has,  however,  been  applied  by  bp.  New- 
ton and  by  various  other  commentators  to  the  successive 
defeats  of  Maxentius  and  Licinius,  to  the  destruction  of 
the  pagan  temples,  and  to  the  various  alterations  accom- 
plished by  Constantine*''.  But,  besides  observing,  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  ideas  I  entertain  of  the  former  seals,  these 
events  belong  to  a  period  far  remote  from  that  of  the  sixth 
seal,  and  therefore  that  this  interpretation  cannot  possibly 
be  the  true  one  ;  I  appeal  to  the  good  sense  of  the  unpre- 
judiced reader,  whether  these  occurrences,  though  of  ac- 
knowleged  importance,  are  adequate  to  the  grandeur  or  to 
the  import  of  the  prophetic  images.  '  In  divine  writings/ 
says  Dr.  Apthorp,  '  this  rule  is  indispensable,  that  a  pro- 
fusion of  the  higher  figures  be  not  employed  on  a  dispro- 
portioned  subject,  or  to  impress  ideas  too  vast  for  the 
event*®.'  Besides,  is  it  not  said,  that  the  kings  of  the  earth 
— hid  themselves  in  the  dens  and  in  the  rocks  of  the  moun- 
tdins ;  and  is  it  not  admitted  without  dispute,  in  other 
places,  that  the  kings  of  the  earth  are  the  modern  mo- 
narchs  of  the  European  world  ?  Whence  then  is  it  applied 
to  a  period  of  time,  when  these  kings  had  no  existence  ? 

47  Should  any  person,  notwithstanding'  all  the  force  of  the  objections 
against  it,  apprehend,  that  the  sixth  seal  has  an  aspect  to  these  inferior 
and  less  important  events,  yet  he  will  probably  acquiesce  in  an  observation 
of  Mr.  Waple,  that  it  '  has  also  a  relation  to  the  final  judg-ments  upon  An- 
tichrist.' 

48  Vol.  I.  p.  86. 


€HAP.    XXIII. 


rs 


That  the  period  referred  to  should  not  be  passed  over  in 
silence,  Vitringa  thinks  it  reasonable  to  expect;  and  he 
accordingly  is  of  opinion,  that  '  the  times  of  Constantine 
are  painted  in  vivid  colors  through  the  greatest  part  of  the 
xiith  chapter'*'.' 

An  interpreter  of  the  Apocalypse  '  must,'  says  Daubuz, 
*  enlarge  his  thoughts,  and  embrace  at  once  the  whole  ex- 
tent and  duration  of  the  Christian  religion  or  church.'  It 
IS  evident  that  the  whole  church  is  concerned  in  the  events 
described,  '  so  that  when  large  and  noble  events  or  revolu- 
tions fit  the  symbols  exacdy,  it  is  unworthy  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  to  think  they  are  applicable'  to  such  as  are  less 
considerable  and  less  important^". 

That  the  symbols  of  the  sixth  seal  are  of  too  august  a 
kind  to  be  applied  to  the  occurrences  which  happened  in 
the  time  of  Constantine,  is  a  circumstance  on  which  Vi- 
tringa has  not  omitted  to  lay  proper  stress.     But  this  is  not 
all.     The  civil  government  was  not  overturned,     ^f  is  true, 
says  Vitringa,  that  some  emperors  we^^  aivested  of  their 
power.     But  '  in  tliis  there  "^*  nothing  new  or  singular.' 
The  same  rank  and  the  same  title,  which  Constantine  had 
wrested  from  his   rivals,  he   himself  continued  to  retain. 
'  The  imagery  of  the  sixth  seal  exhibits  to  us  the   change 
and  subversion  of  the  state  of  some  empire,  which  should 
be  accomplished  Avith  a  sudden  shaking  and  the  most  vio- 
lent commotion.'     But  the  alterations  introduced  by  Con- 
stantine were,  says  this  learned  divine,  executed  in  a  period 
of  profound  peace ;  and  there  was  nothing  in  them  that 
corresponded  to  the   figures  of  the  prophet.     In  the  sub- 
version of  paganism,  the  Christian  emperor  did,  says  Vi- 
tringa, proceed  with  moderation  and  with  caution.     Many 
of  its  temples  and  its  shrines  continued  untouched  ;  the  art 
of  divination  was  still  publicly  practised^';  their  estates^ 

49  P.  239. 

50  Preliminary  Discourse,  p.  42. 

51  •  There  is  a  law  of  Constantine,  which  shews  that  himself  was  not 
altogether  free  from  pag-an  superstition,  in  which  he  orders  tlie  haruspicen 
to  be  consulted,  if  any  public  edifice  was  struck  with  lightning.— We  raw^ 

Vol.  II.  K 


5%  CHAP,  xxrir, 

their  salaries,  their  privileges  still  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  vestals  and  the  priests  and  the  hierophants  ; 
in  the  greater  |cities,  and  especially  at  Rome,  where  an 
altar  stood  to  the  honor  of  the  Goddess  Victory,  public 
sacrifices  were  permitted  ;  and  a  large  proportion  of  the 
Roman  senate,  many  years  after  the  time  of  Constantine, 
continued  in  the  belief,  and  persevered  in  the  patronage, 
of  the  heathen  superstitions.  '  Do  these,  and  other  things 
which  I  omit,  answer  to  the  imagery  of  the  sixth  seal  ? 
Whilst  men,  addicted  to  the  idolatry  of  paganism,  were 
every  where  promoted  to  the  highest  dignities  of  the  state, 
at  a  time  when  Christian  emperors  held  the  reins  of  go- 
vernment ;  had  they  any  necessity  to  say  to  the  mountaina 
and  to  the  rocks^  fall  on  us^  and  hide  us  from  the  xvrath  of 
the  Lamb  P  Was  paganism  subverted  with  violence  and  a 
mighty  commotion,  when,  long  after  the  time  of  Constan- 
tine, it  subsisted  and  flourished  in  the  principal  cities  of 
the  empir<»s4  ? 

Of  a  part  oi  tii^  --vmbols  of  the  sixth  seal,  and  it  will 
only  be  necessary  with  resp^^  to  a  part,  I  shall  give  a  de- 


add  to  this,  that  a  temple  of  the  Goddess  Concord,  being  decayed  b\ 
length  of  time,  was  repaired  or  rebuilt  by  Constantine,  if  we  may  trust  to 
an  inscription  in  Lilius  Giraldus.'     Jortin  on  E.  H.  vol.  II.  p.  305. 

52  P.  235.  There  is  an  original  epistle  renuaning,  '  which  Constantine 
addressed  to  the  followers  of  the  ancient  religion  ;  at  a  time  when  he  n<^ 
longer  disguised  his  conversion,  nor  dreaded  the  rivals  of  his  throne.  He 
invites  and  exhorts,  in  the  most  pressing  terms,  the  subjects  of  the  Ro- 
man empire  to  imitate  the  example  of  their  master ;  but  he  declares,  that, 
those  who  still  refuse  to  open  their  eyes  to  the  celestial  light  may  freeU 
enjoy  their  temples,  and  their  fancied  Gods.  A  report,  that  the  ceremo- 
nies of  paganism  was  suppressed,  is  formally  contradicted  by  the  emperor 
himself,  who  wisely  assigns,  as  the  princij;le  of  his  moderation,  the  in- 
vincible force  of  habit,  of  prejudice,  and  of  superstition. — The  evidence  of 
facts,  and  the  monuments  which  are  still  extant  of  brass  and  marble,  con- 
tinue to  prove  tlie  public  exercise  of  the  pagan  worship  during  the  viliole 
reign  of  the  sons  of  Constantine.  In  the  East,  as  well  as  in  the  West,  in  cities 
as  well  as  in  the  country,  a  great  number  of  temples  were  respected,  or 
at  least  were  spared  ;  and  the  devout  multitude  still  erjoyed  the  luxury  of 
sacrifices,  of  festivals,  and  of  prosessions. — The  title,  the  ensigns,  the 
p^erogati^  es  of  Sovereign  Pontiff,  which  had  been  instituted  by   Numa. 


CHAP.  XXIII.  75 

tailed  account.      There  was  a   great  earthquakcy  \.   e.   a 
mighty  revolution  ;  and  the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  of 
Jiair^  the  antichristian  monarchies  of  the  European  world 
were  completely  darkened ;  the  moon  became  as  blood,  the 
power  of  those  who  stood  in  the  next  rank  to  royalty  was 
obliterated  ;  and  the  stars  of  heaven  fell  unto  the  earth^^, 
the  nobility  were  brought  down  to  a  level  with  the  mass  of 
mankind,  and  stripped  of  all   their   exclusive  privileges. 
The  heaven  departed  as  a  scroxvl,  when  it  is  rolled  together, 
the  old  governments, -which  had  been  so   conspicuous  and 
extensive^*,  disappeared  ;  and  every  mountain,  i.  e.  govern- 
ment", and  island,  i.  e.  European  country,  were  moved  out 
of  their  places.     They  were  not  merely  shaken  with  the 
greatness  of  the  changes,  but  were  placed  in  a  situation 
altogether  different  from  that  which  they  had  previously 
occupied.     That  '  the  prophetic  writers  called  the  European 
countries,  to  which  the  Jews  traded  by  sea,  by  the  name  of 
isles  and  islands  of  the  sea^^,''  Mr.   Pyle  observes,  at  the 
same  time  remarking,  that  '  as  earthquakes  are  seen  to 
swallow  up  whole  islatids  in  the  sea,  and  to  overturn  moun- 

and  assumed  by  Augustus,  were  accepted,  without  hesitation,  by  seven 
Christian  emperors. — Gratian  was  the  first  who  refused  the  pontifical  robe;' 
and  '  the  foiu-th  dissertation  of  M.  de  la  Bastie,  sour  le  Souverain  Pontlficat 
des  Empereurs  Rotnains,''  which  *  is  a  very  learned  and  judicious  perform- 
ance,— proves  the  toleration  of  pag-anism  fj-om  Constantine  to  Gratian.* 
Decl.  and  FaU  of  the  R.  E.  vol.  III.  p.  405,  408,  409. 

S^  On  tlie  word  ecirth  look  back  to  p.  7C>,  vol.  I.  and  p.  37  vol.  II. 

54  Like  the  books  of  the  ancients,  which,  when  spread  out,  were  capa- 
ble of  covering  a  large  space. 

55  That  '  a  mountain  is  the  symbol  of  a  kingdo^n,'  is  the  statement  of 
Dr.  Lancaster  ;  that  it  may  signify  any  species  of  goverpment,  he  like- 
wise observes  ;  and  it  is  the  remark  of  Vitringa  upon  tl?is  verse,  that  not 
oidy  the  Monarchies,  but  what  are  called  Republic'  and  Free  States, 
would,  in  this  general  Revolution,  undergo  the  grf^test  changes. 

56  See  the  same  observation  in  Sir  I.  Newton  ^'on  Dan.  p.  277),  and  in 
Dr.  Lancaster.  To  account  for  this  use  of  th^  word  islands  another  rea- 
son may  also  be  assigned.  '  Islands;  s>^s  Mr.  Lowth  (on  Isa.  xi.  11), 
'  in  the  prophetic  style,  seem  particulaiiv  to  denote  the  Western  parts  of 
die  world,  or  the  Eiu-opcan  n.itlons :  the  IVest  being  often  called  the  sea  in 
the  scripture  language.' 


rd 


CHAP.  XXIII. 


ta'ins^  so  will  the  several  states  and  great  kingdoms  of  this 
Western  world  be  all  quite  changed  in  their  religion,  and 
the  powers  of  Antichrist  be  swallowed  up".' 

Agreeably  to  the  practice  of  the  prophets,  St.  John,  in 
the  next  verse,  represents  that  literally,  which  he  had  be- 
fore expressed  under  the  cover  of  symbols.  He  foretells, 
that  the  princes  and  the  great  men  of  the  earth,  together 
with  all  their  partisans,  will,  from  the  violence  of  their 
fears,  hide  themselves  in  the  dens  and  in  the  rocks,  i.  e.  says 
Mr.  Waple,  in  *  the  most  secret  and  inaccessible  places.* 
*  The  rest  of  the  prophecy  being  to  proceed  with  the  like 
metaphors,  of  plagues  upon  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  earth, 
trees^  &c.'  the  prophet,  says  Dr.  Goodwin,  '  here  gives 
one  literal  explanation  of  them  in  this,  which  is  his  first 
mention  of  such,  which  one  may  serve  for  all ;  that  so  by 
the  analogy  of  the  Holy  Ghost's  own  exposition  here,  the 
rest  might  be  interpreted :  who  makes  kings  to  be  as  the 
swi,  and  nobles  as  the  stars^*.^ 

With  respect  to  the  sixth  seal,  I  shall  only  add,  that  the 
interpretation  of  it,  which  Vitringa  has  so  largely  defended, 
and  demonstrated  as  I  conceive  with  great  strength  of  evi- 
dence, is  no  novel  explication,  but  on  the  contrary  of  the 
highest  antiquity.  That  it  predicted  the  great  events  which 
were  to  happen  at  the  destruction  of  Antichrist,  was  the 
Opinion  of  Victorinus,  of  Andrew,  and  of  Arethas,  whose 
commentaries  on  the  Revelation  are  still  extant.  The  first 
of  these  filled  the  episcopal  see  of  Pettaw  in  Austria,  and 
suffered  martyrdom  under  Dioclesian :  the  second,  about 
the  close  of  the  fifth  century,  was  bishop  of  Csesarea  in 
Cappadocia;  and  the  last  is  supposed  to  have  been  bishop 
of  the  same  s«,e  in  the  succeeding  century". 

The  arguments,  alleged  in  the  present  work  to  prove  that 
the  antichristian  monarchies  of  Europe  will  be  demolished, 
are  deduced  from  prophecy.  Those  who  are  desirous  of 
seeing  the  powerful  argoments  that  lead  to  the  same  con- 


57  On  Rev.  xvl.  20.  58  Inloc.  p.  43. 

59  On  the  age  and  authority  of  th?se  early  commentators,  see  Lardn,er. 


GHAP.  XXIV.  rr 

elusion,  which  are  drawn  from  a  quarter  altogether  diffe- 
rent, I  mean,  from  the  deductions  of  reason,  from  the 
nature  of  things,  and  from  the  existing  state  of  the  Euro- 
pean world,  should  peruse  the  able  pamphlet  of  M.  Mallet 
du  Pan,  entitled  the  Dangers  which  me7iace  Europe^,  In 
the  apprehension  of  this  celebrated  abbe,  the  overthrow  of 
the  despotic  monarchies  which  he  so  much  dreads,  would 
be  one  of  the  most  fatal  of  all  possible  events ;  an  event, 
as  he  affects  to  believe,  subversive  of  religion,  and  hap- 
piness, and  social  order.  But,  I  am  convinced,  that  far 
different  would  be  its  effects.  I  am  convinced,  that  it 
would  accelerate  the  general  practice,  as  well  as  the  uni- 
versal diffusion  of  Christianity  ;  and  would  cause  mankind 
to  attain  to  such  a  pitch  of  prosperity  and  of  improve- 
ment, as  the  world  has  never  seen,  and  can  but  faintly 
conceive. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


ON  SOME  PROPHECIES  OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT,  PRINCIPALLY 
IN  ISAIAH,  FORETELLING  GREAT  CHANGES  IN  HUMAN  AF- 
FAIRS. 

AT  the  entrance  of  the  last  chapter  it  was  observed, 
that  in  Isaiah  a  passage  occurs  parallel  to  the  memorable 
prophecy  of  our  Lord;  and  it  shall  be  my  present  object 
to  prepare  the  reader  for  giving  a  favorable  reception  to 
the  interpretation  of  it  which  I  have  embraced. 

*  It  is,'  says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  usual  with  the  prophets,  when 
they  foretell  some  extraordinary  event  in,  or  near  their 
own  times,  to  carry  their  views  on  farther,  and  point  at 
some  greater  deliverance,  which  God  shall  vouchsafe  to 

60  Dr.  Hartley,  Independently  of  any  reference  to  prophecy,  long  ago 
stated  some  of  the  more  important  causes,  which  threaten  dissolation  to 
<he  present  European  governments.     On  Man,  vol.  II.  p.  440 — 454. 


78  ,  CHAP.  XXIV. 

his  people  in  the  latter  ages  of  the  world".'     There  are 

*  innumerable  instances,'  says  bp.  Hurd,  in  the  Jewish 
prophets,  whei-ein  their  predictions  have  a  double  accom- 
plishment ;  and  accordingly  we  find,  *  that  the  writers  of 
the  New  Testament  give  to  many  of  the  old  prophecies  an 
interpretation,  very  different  and  remote  from  that  which 
may  be  reasonably  thought  the  primary  and  immediate  view 
of  the  prophets  themselves\'  And  the  more  distant  events 
which  they  prefigure  are  generally  far  the  most  important ; 

*  the  style  of  the  prophet  so  adapting  itself  to  this  double 
prospect,  as  to  paint  the  near  and  subordinate  event  in 
terms,  that  emphatically  represent  the  distant  and  more  con- 
siderable^.' 

The  following  instance  of  an  expression  of  a  double  im- 
port is  given  by  Warburton.  '  On  Peter's  refusing  to  eat 
of  clean  and  unclean  meats  promiscuously,  in  the  vision 
presented  to  him,  the  Holy  Spirit  says,  JFhat  God  hath 
cleansed  that  call  thou  not  common*.  The  single  proposi- 
tion is,  that  which  God  hath  cleansed  is  not  common  or 
impure ;  but  no  one  who  reads  this  story  can  doubt  of  its 
having  this  double  sense  :  1.  That  the  distinction  between 
clean  and  unclean  meats  xvas  to  be  abolished.  2.  And  that 
the  Gentiles  were  to  be  called  into  the  church  of  Christ. 
Here,  then,  the  true  sense  of  these  passages  is  not  oncy  but 
txvo :  and  yet  the  intention  or  meaning  is  not,  on  this  ac- 
count, the  least  obscured  or  lost,  or  rendered  doubtful  or 
unintelligible^ 

That  there  are  various  prophecies  of  a  double  sense  is 
very  generally  admitted,  and  by  theologues  of  the  correct- 
est  judgment,  as  by  Limborch  and  Grotius,  by  Ludovicus 
Capellus  and  Campegius  Vitringa,  by  Dr.   Jortin  and  Dr. 

1  On  Isa.  X.  20. 

2  Vol.  I.  p.  61,  127.  The  double  sense  of  prophecy,  says  bp.  Lowth, 
'  the  sacred  writers  of  the  New  Testament  clearly  suppose,  and  according' 
to'  it  '  they  frequently  frame  their  interpretation  of  passages  of  the  Old 
Testament.'     On  Isa.  xi.  1. 

3  Vol.  I.  p.  65,  68.  4  Acts,  x.  lo. 
5  Div.  Leg.  of  Moses,  1765,  vol.  V.  p.  314. 


€HAP.  XXIV.  79 

Samuel  Clarke.  So  strong  are  the  reasons  for  concluding, 
that  some  predictions  are  of  this  description,  that  extreme- 
ly Jew  are  the  writers,  minutely  conversant  in  the  prophetic 
scriptures,  who  have  denied  their  existence. 

*  Since  from  the  express  prophecies  before  cited  of  the 
Messiah's  everlasting  kingdom  of  righteousness,  it  ap- 
pears,' says  Dr.  Clarke,  '  that  God  had  in  fact  a  view  to 
that,  as  the  great  and  general  end  of  all  the  dispensations 
of  providence  towards  his  true  worshippers  from  the  be- 
ginning ;  and  no  prophecy  of  the  scripture  is  of  any  private 
interpretatioii^^  (that  is,  the  meaning  of  the  prophecies  is 
not  what  perhaps  the  prophet  himself  might  imagine  in  his 
private  judgment  of  the  state  of  things  then  present,) — 
but  holy  men  spake  as  they  -were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost : 
there  may,  therefore,  very  possibly  and  very  reasonably 
be  supposed  to  be  many  prophecies,  which,  though  they 
may  have  a  prior  and  immediate  reference  to  some  nearer 
events  yet  by  the  Spirit  of  God  (whom  those  prophecies 
that  are  express  show  to  have  had  a  farther  view,)  may 
have  been  directed  to  be  uttered  in  such  words,  as  may 
even  more  properly  and  more  justly  be  applied  to  the  great 
event  which  Providence  had  in  view,  than  to  the  intermedi- 
ate event  which  God  designed  as  only  a  pledge  or  earnest 
of  the  other^'  In  agreement  with  this  bp.  Hurd  says,  '  it 
does  not  appear,  that  the  later  prophets  always  understood 
the  drift  of  the  more  ancient ;  or,  that  either  of  them  clear- 
ly apprehended  the  whole  scope  and  purpose  of  their  own 
predictions^' 

In  order  to  prove  the  existence  of  a  double  sense  in  pro- 
phecy, Mr.  Lowth  says,  '  there  are  several  prophecies,  in 
which  some  of  the  most  remarkable  passages  were  never 
fulfilled  in  the  pei-sons  of  those,  concerning  whom  they 
were  first  spoken :  as  those  passages  in  David's  Psalms, 
they  pierced  my  hands  and  my  feet^  they  parted  my  gar- 


6  2  Pet.  i.  20,  21. 

r  Evi.  of  Nat.   and  Rev.  Rel.  p.  409. 

8  Vol.  I.  p.  135. 


80  CHAP.    XXIV- 

ments,  and  cast  lots  upon  my  vesture^;  they  gave  me  gall  to 
eat,  and  vinegar  to  drink'°;  were  never,  that  we  can  find, 
literally  true  of  David,  though  it  is  likely  both  those  psalms 
were  at  first  penned  by  him  with  regard  to  his  own  cir- 
cumstances. In  short,  let  any  man  compare  the  literal  sense 
of  the  prophecies  relating  to  Christ,  as  it  is  explained  by 
Grotius,  (who  has  took  more  pains  to  clear  this  matter  than 
any  other  expositor)  with  the'  secondary  and  more  import- 
ant sense,  '  and  he  will  find,  that  generally  speaking  the 
primary  or  literal  sense  does  not  come  up  to  the  full  im- 
port and  meaning  of  the  words:  but  looks' narrow  and 
forced  in  many  places,  in  comparison  of  the'  other". 
*■  David,'  says  Dr.  Jortin,  '  seems  to  speak  concerning  him- 
self when  he  says,  thou  shalt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell^^,  nor 
suffer  thy  holy  one  to  see  corruption^^.  He  intended  per- 
haps no  more  than  this,  thou  shalt  not  suffer  me  to  come  to 
an  untimely  end,  to  be  killed  by  mine  enemies  and  cast  into 
the  grave :  but  then  the  divine  impulse,  which  was  upon 
him,  made  him  use  words  which  should  suit  exactly  to 
Christ,  and  to  himself  only  in  a  loose  and  figurative  sense. 
Of  this  the  prophet  himself  might  be  sensible,  and  might 
know  that  his  words  had  another  import,  and  that  they 
should  be  fulfilled  twice,  both  in  the  sense  which  he  intend- 
ed, and  in  the  sublimer  sense  of  the  holy  spirit.  By  these 
means  a  shade  was  cast  over  the  prophecy,  and  the  sense  of 
the  Spirit  was  concealed  till  the  event  unfolded  it  and  made 
it  conspicuous'*.'  These  words  of  David,  the  apostles, 
Peter  and  Paul,  speak  of  in  such  terms,  as  if  they  con- 
cluded them  to  be  an  undoubted  prediction  of  Christ's  re- 

9  By  St.  Matthew  this  is  referred  to  as  a  prediction  of  Clirist  (xxvii. 
35). 

10  Ps.  xxii.  16,  18 ;  Ixix.  21. 

11  Vindic.  of  the  Div.  Auth.  and  Insp.  of  the  Old  and  New  Test.  p. 
153. 

12  That  is,  thou  idlt  not  leave  my  life  in  the  grave.  That  this  is  the  true 
and  literal  signification  of  the  words,  Dr.  Whitby  Jias  proved  at  length 
(on  the  Acts,  ii.  27). 

13  Ps.  xvi.  10. 

14  Rem.  on  Eccl.  Hist.  vol.  I.  p.  129. 


C.HAP.    XXIV.  81 

surrection  from  the  dead" ;  and  certainly  the  Christian,  who 
is  persuaded  that  there  are  predictions,  relative  to  the  holy 
founder  of  our  religion,  interspersed  in  the  pa^es  of  the 
Jewish  prophets,  cannot  but  think,  that  this  was  a  circum- 
stance eminently  worthy  of  being  foretold. 

One  reason,  says  Mr.  Lowth,  why  the  prophecies  should 
have  a  secondary  sense,  as  well  as  a  primary  and  literal 
one,  may  '  be  taken  from  the  nature  and  use  of  prophecy 
in  genei-al,  which  makes  it  requisite,  that  prophecies  should 

be  delivered  with  some  degree  of  obscurity 1  deny  not 

but  there  are  some  plain  prophecies  in  scripture,  but  as 
much  the  greater  part  of  them  have  something  of  obscurity, 
so  I  doubt  not  but  to  make  it  appear,  that  the  obscurity  of 
the  prophecies  is  so  far  from  being  an  objection  against 
them,  as  some  pretend,  that  on  the  contrary  it  is  absolutely 
requisite,  that  most  prophecies  should  be  obscure,  or  else 
they  would  not  answer  the  designs  for  which  they  were 
given,  nor  be  accomplished  in  a  way  agreeable  to  the 
methods  of  providence'^' 

Without  allowing  a  double  sense  in  prophecy,  '  we  shall,' 
says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  make  great  confusion  and  disorder  in 
the  prophetical  writings,  if  we  suppose  them  to  break  off 
abruptly  from  the  matter  in  hand,  and  without  any  visible 
transition  go  to  a  quite  different  subject.  And  this  is,  to 
speak  more  particularly,  very  unreasonable  to  suppose  in 
the  prophet  Isaiah,  who  as  he  is  most  eminent  for  the  clear- 
ness of  his  prophecies  concerning  the  Messiah,  so  he  is  as 
remarkable  for  the  regular  order  and  contexture  of  his  pro- 
phecies, and  their  coherence  one  with  another.  And  the 
historical  relations,  which  he  intersperses  in  his  writings, 
serve  as  a  key  to  open  the  primary  and  literary  intention  of 
his  whole  prophecy.  But  the  beauty  of  it  taken  all  to- 
gether will  be  quite  spoiled,  except  we  suppose  him  in  most 
cases  to  have  some  regard  to  the  subject  he  is  upon,  and 
rather  to  take  hints  from  thence  to  discourse  concerning  the 

15  Acts,  li.  27;  xiii.  36.  16  Vindic  &.c.  p.  162, 

Vol.  II.  J- 


82  CHAP.    XXIV. 

state  of  the  gospel,  than  to  fly  out  into  a  foreign  subject 
without  any  respect  to  order  or  coherence'^' 

That  the  doctrine  of  the  double  sense  of  prophecy  has 
frequently  been  recurred  to  for  the  explication  of  predic- 
tions, where  no  secondary  signification  is  to  be  found,  can- 
not be  doubted.  Hence  some  have  been  ready  to  conclude, 
because  it  has  been  falsely  ascribed  to  some  prophecies^ 
that  it  therefore  belongs  to  none.  But  certainly,  whether 
the  doctrine  be  or  be  not  well-founded,  the  arguments 
drawii  from  the  abuse  of  it  constitute  no  very  logical  proof 
of  its  non-existence.  From  the  same  cause,  however,  both 
prophecy  and  Christianity  have,  in  the  eyes  of  some,  fallen 
into  disrepute  ;  and  the  reality  of  the  one  has  been  ques- 
tioned, and  the  truth  of  the  other  has  been  controverted'^ 

My  next  citations  I  shall  introduce  with  the  less  scruple, 
because  they  proceed  from  the  pen  of  a  writer,  whose  dis- 
courses on  prophecy,  on  account  of  the  importance  of  the 
matter,  and  the  elegance  of  the  style,  will  long  continue  to 
be  perused  with  pleasure. 

When  the  Jews  '  were  selected  from  the  other  nations, 
to  answer  many  wise  ends  of  providence,  it  pleased  God,' 
says  bp.   Hurd,    '  to  institute  a  form  of  government  for 

17  P.  147. 

18  After  the  paragraph  above  in  the  text  was  written,  I  met  with  the 
following  passage  in  Warburton.  If,  says  the  prelate,  it  be  asked,  what  it 
is  which  hath  prejudiced  some  persons  against  typical  and  secondary 
senses  ?  '  I  answer,  the  folly  of  fanatics,  who  have  abused  it  in  support 
of  the  most  abominable  nonsense.  But  how  unreasonable  is  tliis  preju- 
dice !  Was  there  ever  any  tiling  rational  or  excellent  amongst  men,  that  \ 
hath  not  been  thus  abused  ?  Is  it  any  dispai-agement  to  the  method  of  geo- 
meters, that  some  conceited  writej-s  on  morality  and  religion  have  of  late 
taken  it  up,  to  give  an  air  of  weight  and  demonstration  to  the  whimsies 
of  pedantic  importance  ?  Is  there  no  truth  of  nature,  or  reasonableness 
of  ai-t,  in  grammatical  construction,  because  cabalistic  dunces  have  in 
every  age  abused  it  to  pervert  all  human  meaning  ?  We  might  as  well  say 
that  the  ancient  Egyptians  did  not  write  in  hieroglj'phics,  because  Kircher, 
who  endeavored  to  explain  them,  hath  given  us  nothing  but  his  own  vi- 
sions,  as  that  the  ancient  Jews  had  not  tv^jes  and  secondary  senses,  because 
modern  enthusiasts  have  allegorised  their  whole  story.'  Div.  Leg^  o£ 
Moses,  1765,  vol.  V.  p.  353. 


GHAP.    XXIV.  J8S 

them,  which  could  not  subsist  without  his  frequent  inter- 
position ;  manifested  in  such  a  way  as  might  convince  them, 
that  they  were  under  the  actual  and  immediate  conduct  of 
their  divine  sovereign.  Hence  it  became  a  part  of  this 
singular  economy,  to  be  administered  in  the  way  of  pro- 
phecy ;  by  which  it  would  be  seen,  that  the  hand  of  God 
was  upon  them  in  all  their  more  important  concerns.  Upon 
this  basis  of  an  extraordinary  providence  the  Jewish  go- 
vernment stood:  and  we  are  now  to  see  in  what  manner 
the  prophetic  spirit,  so  essential  to  that  polity,  was  em- 
ployed.' 

'  First,  we  may  observe,  that,  by  means  of  this  provi- 
sion for  their  civil  regimen,  an  apt  and  commodious  way 
was  opened  for  carrying  on  the  divine  councils  in  regard  to 
Jesus ;  in  whom,  indeed,  the  Law  itself  was  to  be  fulfilled. 
— The  general  theme  of  the  prophet  was  some  temporal 
success  or  calamity  of  the  Jewish  state  ;  the  secret  purpose 
of  the  inspirer  was,  occasionally  at  least,  and  when  he  saw 
fit,  to  predict  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  the  Messiah".' 

Secondly,,  to  excite  attention  to  these  remoter  prophecies, 
'  care  was  taken  to  secure  the  authority  of  the  prophet  by 
the  completion  of  his  civil  predictions  in  events  distmctly 
described,  and  near  at  hand.  Thus,  Moses  might  be  be- 
lieved by  the  Jews  in  what  he  said,  of  a  prophet  to  be  raised 
up,  in  a  future  age,  like  to  himseip"^ ;  when  they  saw  his 
prophetic  blessings  and  curses  upon  them,  according  to 
their  deserts  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  so  speedily  and  so 
punctually  executed.  Thus,  too,  their  prophet,  Isaiah, 
might  reasonably  expect  to  find  credit  with  them  for  the 
glorious  things  predicted  by  him  of  the  great  deliverer,  the 
Messiah  ;  when  their  deliverance  from  the  Babylonish  cap- 
tivity was  seen  so  certainly  to  verify  his  prediction  of  that 
event.  The  prophet  himself  exults  in  this  argument,  as 
decisive  and   unanswerable.     Behold,   says  he,  the  former 

19  '  This  use  and  intent  of  prophecy  was  seen,  and  admirably  express- 
cd,  by  the  great  M.  Paschal.     Feiisees,  p.  112.' 

20  Deut.  xviii.  15. 


g4  CHAP.  XXIV. 

thi7igs  are  come  to  pass,  i.  e.  the  prophecies,  I  have  deliver- 
ed to  you  concerning  your  redemption  from  the  Assyrian 
bondage,  will  soon  be  so  exactly  completed,  that  I  regard 
them  as  things  past :  and  therefore  new  things  do  I  declare  ; 
hence  I  claim  your  belief  of  other  prophecies,  concerning  a 
much  greater  redemption,  to  take  place  hereafter,  though 
there  be  no  appearance,  as  yet,  of  any  causes  tending  to 
produce  it ;  for  before  they  spring  forth,  I  telly  on  of  them".'' 
Thirdly,  '  with  these  new  things,  these  spiritual  prophe- 
cies concerning  the  first  coming  of  the  Messiah,  were  like- 
wise intermixed  other  prophecies,  which  ran  out  beyond 
that  term,  and  prefigured  the  great  events  of  his  se- 
cond coming:  and  the  warrant  for  admitting  these  would 
be  the  completion  of  those  other  prophecies  in  the  person 
and  sufferings  of  Christ.  That  there  are  such  prophecies  in 
the  Old  Testament,  will  be  shewn  hereafter.  In  the  mean 
time,  it  will  not  be  thought  incredible,  that,  if  Jesus  be 
indeed  the  end  of  the  prophetic  scheme,  the  revolutions  of 
his  government  should  be  foretold,  as  well  as  the  circum- 
stances of  his  personal  appearance:  in  other  words,  that 
the  consummation  of  that  design,  which  providence  was 
carrying  on,  would  not  be  overlooked,  when  the  steps  and 
gradations  of  it  were  so  distinctly  noted.  For,  in  any  rea- 
sonable design  whatsoever,  the  end  is  first  and  principally 
in  view,  though  the  means  engage,  and  may  seem  to  en- 
gross, the  attention  of  its  author''\' 

21  Is.  xlii.  9. 

22  Vol.  I.  p.  126,  131,  133.  To  the  same  purpose  bp.  Hurd  elsewhere 
speaks.  Having  laid  it  down  as  a  fundamental  principle,  a  principle,  which 
is  especially  grounded  on  Rev.  xis.  10,  '  that  prophecy  in  general  (that 
is,  all  tlie  prophecies  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament)  hath  its  ultimate 
accomplishment  in  the  history  and  dispensation  of  Jesus  ;'  the  bp.  of  Wor- 
cester asks,  '  and  where  is  the  wonder,  that,  if  prophecy  was  given  to 
attest  the  coming  of  Jesus,  and  the  dispensation  to  be  erected  by  him,  it 
shoidd  occasionally  in  every  stage  of  it  respect  its  main  purpose ;  and, 
though  the  immediate  object  be  some  other,  it  should  never  lose  sight  of 
that,  in  which  it  was  ultimately  to  find  its  repose  and  end  ?'  Vol  I.  p, 
41,  62. 


CHAP.  XXIV.  ,  85 

Prophecies  of  a  double  sense  may,  says  Jortin,  '  have 
meanings  as  determinate  and  fixed,  as  if  they  had  only  one 
sense.  The  same  is  true  of  allegorical  writings.'  As  an 
exemplification  of  this,  the  14th  of  the  1st  book  of  Horace's 
odes  may  be  specified.  This  '  ode  has  a  double  sense. 
The  poet  addresses  himself  to  a  real  ship,  and  yet  intended, 
vinder  that  image  or  emblem,  to  dissuade  the  Romans  from 
exposing  themselves  again  to  a  civil  war^^'  To  the  same 
purpose  speaks  bp.  Warburton.  '  Horace,'  says  the  prelate, 
'  thus  addresses  a  crazy  ship  in  which  his  friends  embarked 
for  the  ^gean  sea  : 

'  O  navis,  referent  in  mare  te  novi 

Fluctus  !  O  quid  agis  ?   Fortiter  occupa 
Portum  :  nonne  vides  ut 
Nudum  remigio  latus,  &c. 
In  the  first  and  primary  sense  he  describes  the  dangers  of 
his  friends  in  a  weak  unmanned  vessel,  and  in  a  tempestu- 
ous sea :  in  the  secondary^  the  dangers  of  the  republic  in 
entering  into  a  new  civil  war,  after  all  the  losses  and  disas- 
ters of  the  old.     As  to  the  secondary  sense, — we  have  the 
testimony  of  early  antiquity  delivered  by  Quintilian :    as 
to  the  primary  sense,  the   following  will  not  suffer  us  to 
doubt  of  it. 

Nuper  solicitum  qupe  mihi  taedium, 

Nunc  desiderium,  curaque  non  levis, 
Interfusa  nitentes 

Vites  sequora  Cycladas.' 
Had  the  ode  '  been  purely  historical,  notliing  had  been 
more  cold  or  trifling;  had  it  been  purely  allegorical,  nothing 
less  natural  or  gracious,  on  account  of  the  enormous  length 
into  which  it  is  drawn. — But  suppose  the  ode  to  be  both 
historical  and  allegorical,  and  that,  under  his  immediate 
concern  for  his  friends,  he  conveyed  his  more  distant  ap- 
prehensions  for  the  republic,  and  then  there  appears  so 
much  ease,  and  art,  and  dignity  in  every  period,  as  to  make 

23  Rem.  on  Eccl.  Hist.  vol.  I.  p.  128. 


86  CHAP.    XXIV. 

us  justly  esteem  it  the  most  finished  composition  of  anti- 
quity*^.' 

But  though  there  are  predictions  which  have  a  double 
aspect,  the  advocates  of  that  opinion  need  not  hesitate  to 
admit,  with  Dr.  Jortin,  that  the  direct  prophecies,  which 
are  taken  only  in  one  sense,  are  those,  on  which  we  ought 
principally  to  insist,  when  we  would  prove  the  truth  of 
our  religion  from  the  predictions  of  the  Old  Testament*^.' 

To  interpret  many  of  the  predictions  in  the  Hebrew  pro- 
phets, as  having  an  express  and  ultimate  reference  to  the 
fortunes  of  Christ's  kingdom,  is  the  method  which  Vitringa 
decidedly  approves,  and  every  where  illustrates.  '  This,' 
says  he,  '  was  the  mode  of  interpretation  followed  by  the 
ancients  ;  by  those  who,  after  the  ancient  models,  com- 
mented on  the  sci'iptures  in  the  middle  ages  ;  and  by  the 
most  eminent  leaders  of  the  Reformation,  Luther,  Bren- 
tius,  Pellicanus,  Bibliander,  Bugenhagius,  Snoius ;  and, 
in  the  last  age,  by  Cocceius  and  Altingius''^'  And  I  know 
not,  whether  any  scholar  will  be  justified  in  totally  disclaim- 
ing the  double  sense  in  prophecy,  until  he  has  perused 
some  of  the  many  observations  on  this  subject,  which  are 
scattered  over  the  works  of  Vitringa*^. 

Of  this  nature  is  thought  to  be  the  xliith  chapter  of 
Isaiah,  which,  all  the  commentators  agree,  did,  in  its  pri- 
mary sense,  foretell  the  destruction  of  the  Babylonian  mo- 
narchy and  aristocracy. 

With  respect  to  the  style  of  Isaiah,  it  '  has,'  says  Mr. 
Gray,  *  been  universally  admired  as  the  most  perfect  model 
of  the  sublime  ;  it  is  distinguished  for  all  the  magnificence. 


24  Div.  Leg.  of  Moses,  1765,  vol.  V.  ]).  316. 

25  Rem.  on  Eccl.  Hist.  vol.  I.  p.  121.  On  the  double  sense  of  prophecy 
see  also  the  xith  of  bp.  Lowth's  Lect.  on  Hebrew  Poetry. 

26  Vitrhig-a  de  Car.onibtis  Verbi  Prophetki  recte  exponemJi,  cap.  ii.  can.  xil. 

27  '  That  the  ancient  prophets  had  a  real  eye  to  the  corruptions  and 
downfal  of  the  •  antichristian  Babylon,  &c.  in  their  prophecies  concern- 
ing' the  '  political  cities  and  governments  of  old,  the  reader  may,'  says 
Mr.  Pyle,  'be  satisfied  from  that  learned  and  laboi-ious  commentator  Vi- 
tringa on  Isai.  xxiii.  adjinem  cap.  and  In  many  other  parts  of  that  excellent 
■work.'     Pyle  on  the  Rev.  p.  155. 


CHAP.  XXIV.  87 

and  for  all  the  sweetness  of  the  Hebrew  language.  The 
variety  of  his  images,  and  the  animated  warmth  of  his 
expressions,  characterise  him  as  miequalled  in  point  of  elo- 
quence ;  and  if  we  were  desirous  of  producing  a  specimen 
of  the  dignity  and  beauties  of  the  scripture-language,  we 
should  immediately  think  of  having  recourse  to  Isaiah^V 
With  respect  to  the  period  in  which  he  flourished,  we  are 
informed  in  the  1st  chapter  and  the  1st  verse  of  his  writ- 
ings, that  he  prophesied  in  the  days  of  Uzziah^  yotham^ 
Ahaz^  and  Hezekiah^  kings  of  fudah.  Now  Uzziah  as- 
cended the  throne  of  Judah  in  the  year  761  before  the 
Christian  aera^'.  '  The  prophecies  of  Isaiah,'  says  bp. 
Hurd,  *  it  is  well  known,  are  chiefly  taken  up  in  predict- 
ing the  future  glories  of  Christ's  kingdom^".' 

Without  adducing  any  farther  preliminary  observations, 
I  proceed  to  the  citation  of  the  words,  which  gave  rise  to 
them.  Behold^  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh^^^  cruel  both 
xvith  xvar  and  fierce  anger ^  to  lay  the  land^'^  desolate :  and  he 
shall  destroy  the  sinners  thereof  out  of  it.    For  the  stars  of 

28  Key  to  the  Old  Test.  p.  369.  Those  who  feel  a  desire  of  carefully 
examining  the  beauties  of  Isaiah  should  read,  together  with  the  masterly 
coiTimentary  of  Vitringa,  the  elegant  Praelectiones  of  Lowth. 

29  Anc.  Univ.  Hist.  vol.  IV.  p.  150. 

30  Serm.  preached  at  Liiicoln's  Inn,  vol.  I.  p.  276. 

31  '  As  the  prophets  often  speak  of  things  future,  as  if  they  were  al- 
ready effected;  so  they  speak  often  of  things  to  be  brought  about  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  as  if  they  were  to  succeed  immediately ;  past,  present,  and 
to  come  being  all  alike  known  to  an  infinite  mind,  and  the  intermediate 
time  not  revealed  perhaps  to  the  minds  of  the  prophets.'  Bp.  Newton, 
vol.  I.  p.  293. 

32  Had  tlie  passage  above  been  of  so  extensive  a  signification  as  is  re- 
presented, the  word  land,  it  may  be  objected,  would  not  have  been  em- 
ployed. The  fact  is,  the  word  in  the  original  might  have  been  ti-anslated 
the  earth,  as  the  same  word  in  the  Hebrew  is  translated  four  verses  farther. 
Accordingly  what  is  rendered  the  land  in  our  version  in  the  Septuagint  is 

After  writing  the  preceding  note,  I  met  with  the  following  corrobora-: 
live  observation  of  Mr.  Lowth  in  his  notes  on  the  xxivtli  ch,  of  Isaiah. 
•  The  Hebrew  word  haarets  is  promiscuously  rendered  in  this  chapter  by 
our  interpreters  either  earth  or  land:  and  may  be  taken  in  a  larger  or  nai"- 
rovi'er  sense,  as  the  context  inclines  us  to  understand  it.'    It  may  be  added, 


88  CHAP.  XXIV* 

heavefi  <xnd  the  constellations  thereof  shall  not  give  their 
light :  the  sun  shall  be  darkened  in  his  going  forth^  and  the 
moon  shall  not  cause  her  light  to  shine^^.  A7id  I  ivill  punish 
the  world  for  their  eviP*  ;  and  Ixvill  cause  the  arrogancy  of 
the  proud  to  cease^  and  will  lay  low  the  haughtiness  of  the 
terrible. — Therefore  I  will  shake  the  heavens^  and  the  earth 
shall  move  out  of  her  place ^  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  of  hostSy 
and  in  the  day  of  his  fierce  anger^^. 

Surely  language  like  this  appears  to  point  at  somewhat 
more  than  the  victory  of  one  arbitrary  prince  over  a  brother- 
monarch,  and  the  removal  of  one  set  of  rapacious  nobles 
in  order  to  make  way  for  another.  On  the  last  of  these 
verses,  Vitringa  says,  *  to  no  man,  who  is  skilled  in  the 
diction  of  prophecy,  is  this  figurative  language  obscure. — 
It  signifies,  that  the  greatest  commotions  would  arise  in  the 
world;  and  that,  in  the  political  government  of  it,  stupen- 
dous changes  would  be  effected  (together  with  the  clearest 
demonstration  of  the  Divine  justice  and  severity),  not 
otherwise  than  if  the  heavens  were  to  fall,  and  the  earth  to 
move  out  of  its  place.' 

This  sagacious  commentator,  speaking  of  this  part  of 
Isaiah,  says,  one*  object  of  this  prophecy  is  to  teach,  'that 
the  fate  of  the  figurative  Babylon,  and  of  all  the  kingdoms 
of  the  world,  which  should  oppose  themselves  to  the  king- 
dom of  the  Son  of  God,  would  resemble  the  fate  of  the 
real  Babylon^^.'     And  he  adds  a  little   farther,  that  pious 

tliat  the  two  first  verses  of  the  first  ch.  of  Genesis,  where  haarets  is  used, 
prove  beyond  all  contradiction,  that  this  is  a  word  of  the  most  comprehen- 
sive import.  It  is  there  said.  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and 
the  earth.     And  the  earth  Vias  iiiithout  form  and  void. 

33  Maimonides  speaks  of  this  and  of  v.  13,  as  having  beyond  all  doubt 
a  political  and  symbolic  signification.     More  Nevochim,  p.  265. 

34  In  bp.  Lowth's  more  correct  Version  it  is  :  /  luill  visit  the  world Jor 
its  evil.  The  Hebrew  word,  translated  world,  is  of  the  most  extensive 
import,  and  could  not  have  been  otherwise  rendered.  How  this  expres- 
sion can  be  exclusively  applied  to  the  empu-e  of  the  king  of  Babylon,  it 
does  not  seem  easy  to  conceive. 

35  XIII.  9,  10.  11,  13. 

36  In  Jes^i.  vol.  I.  p.  377. 


CtlAP.  X*IV.  §9 

men  may,  from  this  prophecy,  anticipate  the  destruction  of 
the  enemies  of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  of  all  power  which  is 
hostile  to  it.  One  or  two  remarks,  from  the  argument  of 
Mr.  Lowth  on  the  xiiith  ch.  of  Isaiah,  shall  also  be  cited. 
'  After  the  description  of  those  glorious  times,  which 
•should  come  to  pass  in  the  latter  days,  the  prophet  foretells 
the  destruction  of  God's  enemies^  and  begins  with  Babylon, 
whither  God's  people  were  to  be  carried  captive,  and  there- 
fore was  a  type  or  figure  of  Antichrist,  the  great  oppressor 
of  God's  church  in  after-times.  See  Rev.  xvii.  5.  And 
whoever  carefully  considers  several  particulars  in  this  and 
the  next  chapter — will  easily  find,  that  these  prophecies 
have  an  aspect  beyond  the  taking  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus, 
inasmuch  as  the  prophets  describe  this  judgment  as  a  deci- 
sive stroke,  that  should  thoroughly  vindicate  the  cause  of 
oppressed  truth  and  innocence.'  But  this  cause  cannot,  I 
apprehend,  be  completely  vindicated,  till  all  the  oppressive 
governments,  not  only  of  Europe,  but  of  the  world,  shall 
be  overthrown,  and  every  remnant  of  aristocratic  usurpa- 
tion shall  be  swept  away ;  when  those,  who  glitter  in  their 
elevated  stations  in  the  political  world,  like  the  sun,  the 
moon,  and  the  stars  in  the  natural,  sh  Jl  be  perfectly  dark- 
ened, and,  in  the  expressive  language  of  the  prophet,  th6 
arrogancy  of  the  proud  sh'dW  cease^  and  the  haughtiness  of 
the  terrible  shall  be  laid  loxv. 

It  is  in  the  name  of  Almighty  God,  that  the  prophet  says. 
Twill  shake  the  heavens^  i.  e.  the  governments  of  the  world, 
and  the  earth  shall  remove  out  of  her  place.  That  the  earth 
is  a  symbol  of  the  great  body  ol  the  people  has  before  been 
remarked;  and  accordingly  its  removal  out  of  its  place  ap- 
pears here  to  signify,  that  they  shiill  be  raised  from  their 
present  oppressed  and  degraded  state,  and  shall  assume 
their  proper  rank  in  society.  Though  contenting  myself 
with  the  concisest  mention  of  this  passage  of  Isaiah,  I  yet 
cannot  but  entertain  the  expectation,  that,  after  all  which 
has  been  said  in  this  and  the  two  preceding  chapters,  it  will/ 
be  thought,  by  many  of  my  readers,  pointedly  to  foretell 

Vol.  II.  M 


90  CHAP.    XXIV, 

the  future  accomplishment  of  these  happy  events,  and  per- 
fectly to  harmonise  with  the  memorable  predictions  of 
Daniel,  of  John,  and  of  our  Lord  himself. 

A  parallel  passage  shall  with  brevity  be  referred  to,  for 
the  explanation  of  which  there  is  certainly  no  occasion  to 
have  recurrence  to  that  double  sense,  which,  as  there  is 
reason  to  think,  is  sometimes  found  in  prophecy.  In  the 
2d  and  4th  verses  of  the  iid  ch.  of  Isaiah,  that  prophet 
says,  It  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days^''^  that  the  ynotrJi- 
tain  of  the  Lord'^s  house  shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the 
mountains^  and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills ^  and  all  na- 
tions shall  fow  unto  it ;  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into 
plough-shares y  and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks;  a  pre- 
diction manifestly  descriptive,  in  its  proper  and  primary 
sense,  of  the  millennium.  '  Our  writers,'  says  the  learned 
Brenius,  '  every  where  apply  the  expression  of  the  last  days 
or  times  to  the  times  of  the  Messiah,  which  run  from  that 
period,  in  which  he  obtained  in  heaven  the  kingdom  even 
unto  that  time,  in  which  he  shall  again  deliver  the  kingdom 
to  the  Father.  He  says  then  in  the  last  days^  that  is,  in  the 
time  of  the  Messiah,  the  mountaiji  of  the  Lord^s  house,  that 
is,  the  kingdom  of  the  people  of  God  is  about  to  be  exalted 
upon  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world.  By  Daniel  the  same 
is  predicted  under  the  image  of  a  stone,  cut  out  of  a  jnoun- 
tain,  and  beco^ne  a  mountain,  -which  fills  the  xvhole  earth. — 
But  although  this  does  not  yet  appear,  as  the  monarchies  of 
the  world  are  still  standing,  which  are  first  to  be  destroyed ; 
yet  when  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  shall  be  fulfilled,  and  the 
fuUne&s  of  them  shall  have  entered  in,  and  the  end  of  the 
monarchies  exhibited  to  Daniel  in  his  vision  shall  be  arrived, 
then  at  length  this  prophecy  shall  with  all  completeness  be 
accomplished.  Mountain  we  often  see  employed  in  the 
prophetic  scriptures  for  a  kingdom  or  king^^J* 

27  In  the  Improved  Translations  of  bp.  Lowth  and  Mr.  Dodson  it  is^ 
in  the  latter  days. 

38  Numerous  ai-e  the  passages  to  which  Brcnius  refers,  for  the  purpose 
of  proving  this. 


CHAP.    XXIV. 


91 


After  this  striking  prediction  of  what  Is  to  take  place  at 
the  commencement,  and  during  the  progress,  of  the  mil- 
lennium, Isaiah,  a  few  verses  farther,  enters  more  particu- 
larly into  the  events  which  shall  distinguish  the  first  ara  of 
that  memorable  period.      The  lofty  looks  of  man  shall  he 
humbled^  and  the  haughtiness  of  men  shall  be  bowed  down, 
and  the  Lord  alone  shall  he  exalted  in  that  day.     For  the 
day  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  shall  he  upon  e^ery  one  that  is 
lifted  up,  and  he  shall  he  brought  low. — And  upon  all  the 
high  moxintains,  and  upon  all  the  hills^"^  that  are  If  ted  up. 
— And  they  shall  go  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks,  and  into  the 
caves   of  the   earth^°,  for  fear   of  the  Lord,   and  for'^^  the 
glory  of  his  majesty,  zvhen  he  ariseth  to  shake  terribly  the 
earth.     This  prophecy,  which  resembles  that  of  the  sixth 
seal,  and  appears  in  no  small  degree  to  countenance  the 
glorious  doctrine  of  Equality  of  Rights,  is  classed  by  Mr. 
Whiston'^^  among  those,  which  relate  to  the  destruction  at 
Armageddon,  and  to  the  downfal  of  Antichrist.     The  shak- 
^^S'  °f  t^^  earth,  says  Mr.  Macculloch,  a  clergyman  of  Scot- 
land, here  '  intimates,  that,  at  the  period  referred  to,  the 
nations  of  the  world  should  be  violently  agitated,  and  ter- 
rible commotions  excited"*^.' 

The  prediction,  to  which  I  shall  next  concisely  refer, 
forms  a  principal  part  of  the  concluding  prophecy  of  Hag- 
gai  J  and  I  am  the  rather  induced  to  mention  it,  short  as  it 
is,  because  it  furnishes  an  undoubted  specimen  of  symbolic 
diction  being  immediately  afterwards  interpreted  by  words 
of  a  plain  and  obvious  import"'*.     In  the  name  of  that  great 

39  i.  e.  Upon  the  greater  and  the  lesser  kingdoms,  for  Dr.  Lancaster  has 
observed,  as  analogy  would  lead  us  to  expect,  that  a  hill,  as  well  as  a 
■mountain,  is  the  symbol  of  a  kingdom. 

40  That  this  is  a  very  proper  and  familiar  image  to  express  terror,  and 
drawn  from  actual  observation  and  experience,  bp.  Lowth  has  shevm  at 
length  (in  loc.) 

41  Or  rather,  as  it  is  in  the  Translations  of  bp.  Lowth  and  Mr.  Dobson, 
froin  the  fear  of 'Jehovah,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  majesty. 

42  See  his  Ess.  on  the  JRev.  p.  361. 

43  Lcct.  on  Isaiah.     1791.  44  Look  back  to  p.  258.  vol.  I. 


/ 


92  CHAP.    XXIV. 

Being,  who  decrees  and  superintends  the  revolutions  of  the 
world,   the   prophet  in  the  21st  and  22d  verses  of  the  iid 
chapter  says,  I  will  shake  the  heavens  and  the  earth;  and  I 
will  overthroxv  the  throne  of  kingdoms^  and  I  will  destroy 
the  strength  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  heathen.     That  the  lat- 
ter part  of  this  passage  is  a  literal  explication   of  the   figu- 
rative language  of  the  former  part,  is  observed  by  Mr.  Col- 
lyer«  and  by  bp.  Chandler*^     To  the  same  purpose  speaks 
Mr.  Thomas  Jeffery.     '  The  shaking  of  the  earth  is  ex- 
plained by  the  prophet  himself,  by  shaking  the  nations  and 
ki)igdo7ns  of  the  earth  ;  and  then  shaking  the  heavens  may 
very  naturally  refer  to  the  altering  the  government  in  them*^."*' 
The  prophecy  contained  in  the  21st  and  22d  verses  of  the 
iid  ch.  of  Haggai  '  plainly  relates,'  says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  to  the 
second  coming  of  Christ,  or  to  that  illustrious  appearance  of 
his  kingdom,  which  shall  put  a  period  to  the   kingdoms  of 
the  earth.-r—Sce  Dan.  ii.  44.' 

Any  prophecy  of  superior  authority  to  that  of  our  Sa- 
viour it  is  impossible  to  cite.  On  this  subject  I  can,  how- 
ever, refer  the  reader  to  one  of  much  higher  antiquity.  It  is 
in  the  second  Psalm.  This  psalm,  which  is  applied  to  Jesus 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  '  contains,'  says  bishop  Patrick, 
*  a  most  illustrious  prophecy  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ ;' 
and  accordingly  Simeon  De  Muis,  a  much  esteemed  com- 
mentator on  the  Psalms,  informs  us,  that  it  was  regarded 
by  celebrated  writers  of  antiquity  among  the  Jews  as  pro- 
phetic of  the  Messiah'*\ 

'■  If  we  compare  this  poem  with  the  events  of  the  life  and 
reign  of  Da^  id,  illustrious  as  they  were  ;  we  find,'  says  Dr. 
Apthorp,  '  the  ideas  and  expressions  too  disproportioned 
to  the  subject,  to  admit  of  a  literal  application.  For  nei- 
ther were  his  enemies  so  powerful,  nor  their  submission  so 

45  The  Sacred  Interpreter,  by  Coll)  er,  late  vicar  of  Coxwell,  Berks^ 
Carlisle,  1790,  vol.  I.  p.  321. 

46  Def.  of  Chr.  p.  205.  ■«• 

47  Christianity  the  Perfection  of  all  Religion,  Nat.  and  Rev.  p.  343. 

48  Those  celebrated  rabbis,  Aben  Ezra  and  Kimchi,  ai-e  specified  bv  bp. 
Chandler,  as  maintaining  this  opinion.     Def.  of  Chr-  p.  232. 


CHAP.    XXIV.  93 

complete,  nor  the  reign  of  David  so  prosperous  and  exten- 
sive, as  to  verify  the  amplitude  of  the  style  and  composi- 
tion"^^.' '  If,'  says  Vitringa,  '  the  predicates  of  any  subject 
can  be  understood,  in  their  just  emphasis,  of  none  but 
Christ  ;  and  if  applied  to  any  other  subject  give  a  feeble  and 
uninteresting  meaning:  as  in  Isai.  xi.  why  should  we  pur- 
sue a  flying  and  fallacious  shadow^  and  not  seize  at  once  the 
solid  substance  of  the  prophecy  ?  Especially  when  the  New 
Testament  is  our  guide^°.' 

The  opposition,  which  princes  and  men  in  power  were  to 
carry  on  both  against  the  propagation  and  against  the  pro- 
gress of  the  gospel,  the  iid  Psalm  appears  to  point  out  in 
general  terms.  In  the  2d  verse,  David  says,  the  kings  of 
the  earth  set  themselves^  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together^ 
against  the  Lord^  and  against  his  anointed.  Now  such  were 
Pilate  and  Herod,  and,  as  Mr.  Sam.  Clark  observes  on 
this  verse,  '  other  wicked  kings  in  all  ages  ;'  and  he  perti- 
nently refers  to  that  parallel  verse  in  the  Rev.  (xvii.  14), 
M^here  it  is  said,  that  the  Ten  Kiiigs — shall  make  xvar  with 
the  Lamb.  But,  says  the  psalmist  in  the  4th  and  5th  verses, 
he  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh  ;  the  Lord  shall  have 
them  in  derision  :  Then  shall  lie  speak  unto  them  in  his  xurath^ 
and  vex  them  in  his  sore  displeasure.  '  Vv^hen  they  have 
spit  their  venom,'  says  the  same  commentator,  '  and  spun 
their  thread  to  its  full  length,  and  are  ripe  for  destruction, 
he  will  manifest  his  fury  against  them,  by  the  punishment 
he  inflicts  upon  them.'  The  inspired  writer  adds  in  the  6th 
verse,  yet  have  L  set  my  king  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion^^ ; 
and  in  the  eighth,  /  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  in- 
heritance ;  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  pos- 
session. '-  These  words,'  says  Poole,  '  declai-e  the  great 
amplitude  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah.'     How  this  is 


49  Vol.  II.  p.  86. 

50  Vitringa,  in  confinliation  of  what  he  here  iirg-es,  specifies  various 
passages  of"  the  New  Testament.  De  Canonlbiis  Verbi  Prophetici  recte 
exponendi,  cap.  ii.  can.  xii. 

51  This  expression,  as  Poole  remarks  (in  loe.)  i.s  sometimes  put  '  for 
the  Christian  Ch'.irch.' 


94  CHAP.   xxi\-. 

to  be  effected  we  are  told  in  the  next  verse,  where  the  Deity 
is  represented  as  solemnly  addressing  Christ  in  these  tre- 
mendous words  :  thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron^''y 
thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  patterns  vesseP^ ;  that  is, 
that  description  of  persons,  who  had  been  previously  men- 
tioned, the  Kings  and  the  Rulers  of  the  earthy  who  set  them- 
selves against  the  Lord's  anointed^  and  breathe  hostility 
against  the  true  spirit  of  his  religion.  The  Hebrew  word, 
here  translated  set  themselves,  Maimanides  observes  on 
this  verse,  denotes  firmness  and  perpetuity^*  ;  and,  with  re- 
spect to  the  obstruction  made  to  the  progress  of  the  Mes- 
siah's kingdom,  the  monarchs  of  the  world  have  certainly 
acted  a  very  decided  and  uniform  part. 

Returning  to  the  Evangelical  prophet"  (for  that  is  the 
title  which  the  general  suffrage  of  Christians  has  conferred 
on  Isaiah),  I  shall  cite  from  the  xxivth  chapter  of  his  pro- 
phecies a  remarkable  passage,  Vv'hich  is  thought  to  have  a 
particular  reference  to  the  war  of  Armageddon,  to  the  fate 
of  the  princes  who  are  engaged  in  it,  and  to  the  signal  re- 
volution which  will  be  consequent  to  their  overthrow.  That" 
this  chapter  relates  to  the  latter  ages  of  the  world  is  ob- 
served by  Dr.  Wells  in  his  commentary  upon  it.  The 
images,  which  the  prophet  chiefly  employs  in  this  xxivth 
chapter  are  such,  says  bishop  Lowth,  as  denote  great  revo- 
lutions ;  '  revolutions,  involving  all  orders  and  degrees  of 
men,  changing  entirely  the  face  of  things,  and  destroying 
the  whole  polity  both  religious  and  civil.'  After  declaring 
that  the  earth  shall  be  in  a  distressed  and  a  desolated  state, 
Isaiah  supposes  a  great  and  favorable  change  to  take  place, 

52  That  is,  says  Simeon  de  Muis,  -with  the  sword,  as  rabbies  Ezra  and 
Rasi  interpret  it. 

55  The  reader  of  this  verse  Mr.  Sam.  Clark  pertinently  refers  to  a  paral- 
lel place  in  Daniel  (ii.  44),  where  it  is  said,  the  God  of  heaven — shall  break 
in  pieces  and  consuone  all  these  kingdoms.' 

54  More  Nevochim,  p.  18. 

55  He  is  so  styled,  says  Mr.  Lowth  (in  Pref ),  '  because  he  foretold  the 
Conwn^  and  A'w^a!om  of  the  Messiah  with  greater  clearness  than  any  of 
Itie  rest. ' 


CHAP.  XXIV.  95 

and  accordingly  says  in  v.  15  and  16,  glorify  ye  the  Lord — 
in  the  isles  of  the  sea.  From  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  have  xve  heard  songs,  even  glory  to  the  righteous. 
Praise  ye  the  Lord  throughout  the  nations  of  Europe  ;^^ 
and  it  is  not  thence  only,  but  from  the  remotest  parts  of 
the  world,  that  the  voice  of  joy  is  heard,  and  the  praises  of 
the  just  and  the  upright  are  now  to  be  resounded.  After 
declaring  in  v.  19  and  20,  that  the  earth  (i.  e.  the  symbolic 
earth)  is  moved  exceedingly,  and  that  the  earth  shall  move 
to  and  fro,  the  prophet  foretells  in  the  two  following  verses, 
that  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  Day^'',  that  the  Lord  shall 
punish  the  host  of  the  high  ones  that  are  on  high,  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth  upon  the  earth.  And  they  shall  be  ga- 
thered together,  as  prisoners  are  gathered  in  the  pit^^,  and 
shall  be  shut  up  in  the  prison,  and  after  many  days  shall 
they  be  visited.  To  the  war  of  Armageddon  this  passage 
is  referred  by  Mr.  Whiston'^ :  and  Mr.  Lowth  says,  '  I 
cannot  find  any  explication  of  this  verse  so  agreeable  to 
the  natural  sense  of  the  words,  as  that  of  a  late  learned 
writer  upon  the  Revelation,  c.  xix.  6,  who  explains  it  of 
the  kings  of  the  earth,  who  made  war  with  Christ  and  his 
saints  at  Armageddon,  Rev.  xvi.  16.'  If  Mr.  Lowth  sup 
posed,  that  all,  engaged  in  the  war  of  Armageddon  against 
the  kings  of  the  earth,  were  to  be  men  of  an  holy  charac- 
ter, he  was,  I  apprehend,  in  an  error.  When  large  bodies 
of  men  are  united  in  accomplishing  the  very  best  designs, 
not  a  few  among  them  will  necessarily  be  of  very  ex- 
ceptionable morals. 

With  respect  to  the  kings  of  the  earth  being  visited  af- 
ter many  days,  it  may  signify,  says  Matthew  Henry,  that 

56  Look  back  to  p.  75,  where  the  expression,  the  isles  of  the  sea,  is  ex- 
plained. 

57  '  In  that  Day.  This  phrase  often  denotes  in  Isaiah — an  extraordinary 
reason,  remarkable  for  some  signal  events  of  providence,  called  elsewhere, 
by  way  of  excellence,  the  Bay  of  the  Lord.'  Mr.  Lowth  on  Isa.  iv.  2.  See 
tfhis  latter  expression  explained  in  p.  261.  vol.  I- 

58  ♦  Or  dungeon.'     Mr.  Lo\vtli. 
.59  See  his  Ess.  on  the  Hev.  p.  362. 


96  CHAP.    XXIV. 

'  they  shall  be  visited  in  xvrath^ ;  it  is  the  same  word  in 
another  form  that  is  used,  v.  21,  the  Lord  shall  punish  them  : 
they  shall  be  reserved  to  the  day  of  execution  as  condemn- 
ed criminals  are.'  To  the  same  purpose  speaks  Dr.  Wells. 
*  Thei/  shall  be  visited,  i.  e.  brought  forth  to  public  punish- 
ment.' That  the  word  visited  in  this  passage  is  to  be  ex- 
plained of  punishment  is  observed  by  Glassius"^',  by  Brenius, 
and  by  Vitringa;  and  the  last  of  these  truly  learned  men 
declares  it  to  be  extremely  clear,  that  this  prophecy  in  its 
figurative  sense  is  to  be  explained  of  the  very  period,  yet 
to  come,  which  St.  John  treats  of  in  the  sixth  seal,  and  of 
the  great  events  which  he  has  there  foretold.  That  I  ap- 
peal to  so  many  unaccomplished  predictions  in  the  Hebrew 
scriptures  needs  not  to  awaken  in  the  reader  any  degree  of 
surprise  ;  for  Sir  I.  Newton  does  not  hesitate  to  declare, 
that  '  there  is  scarce  a  prophecy  in  the  Old  Testament  con- 
cerning Christ,  which  doth  not,  in  something  or  other,  re- 
late to  his  second  coming^^.'' 

Having  quoted  several  passages  from  Isaiah,  I  shall  here 
take  the  opportunity  of  inserting  another,  as  it  is  a  striking 
one,  though  with  the  subject  of  the  chapter  it  has  only  an 
indirect  connexion. 

*  This  prophet,'  says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  seems  to  have  been 
favored  with  an  entire  view  of  the  Gospel-state,  from  the 
very  birth  of  the  Messias,  to  that  glorious  period,  when 
the  kingdoms  of  the  roorkl  shall  become  the  kingdoms  of  the 
Lord,  and  of  his  Christ^^J*  In  correspondence  with  this, 
Dr.  Apthorp  observes,  that  the  three  last  verses  of  ch.  Ivi. 
refer  to  '  the  corruptions  of  Antichrist ;'  and  the  comple- 
tion of  this  prophecy  must,  he  declares,  be  sought  in  the 
conduct  of  the  '  bishops  and  more  eminent  pastors  and  the 
whole  ecclesiastical  orders'^.'     To  a  large  proportion  of  the 


60  '  Thus  this  very  phrase,  after  many  days  thou  shalt  be  'vixited,  is  used, 
Ezek.  xxxviii.  8.'  Mr.  Lowth  in  Iog.  And  hi  this  sense  of  punishment  it 
is  understood  by  a  crowd  of  Jewish  i-ahbis,  wlio  ha'  e  commented  on  this 
verse. 

61  Philologia  Sacra,  1711,  p.  561. 

62  P.  132.  63  Pi-ef:p.4. 
64Vol.II.  p.  186,  189 


CHAP.  XXIV.  Qf 

priests,  belonging  to  all  the  countries  of  Christendom,  it 
does,  indeed,  seem  justly  applicable  :  but  there  appears  to 
be  no  solid  reason,  why  Dr.  Apthorp  should  have  re- 
stricted it,  as  he  has  done,  to  the  clergy  of  the  middle  ages. 
The  verses  are  expressed  with  the  plainness  of  primitive 
times,  and  speak  the  language  of  censure  without  reserve. 
After  foretelling  in  the  preceding  verse,  in  the  diction  of 
symbols,  iha.t  the  beasts  of  the  forest  would  co?7ie  to  de- 
vour ;  the  prophet  says  :  His  zuatchme^i  are  blind;  they  are 
all  ignorant ;  they  are  all  dumb  dogs,  they  cannot  bark ; 
sleeping,  lying  doivn,  loving  to  slumber^^.  Tea,  they  are 
greedy  dogs  which  can  never  have  enougli^^,  and  they  are 
shepherds  that  cannot  understand :  they  all  look  to  their  own 
way,  every  one  for  his  gain^''  from  the  highest  to  the  low- 
esf^.  Come  ye,  say  they^^,  I  will  fetch  rvine,  and  -we  will 
fll  ourselves  with  strong  drink  ;  and  to-morroxv  shall  be  as 
this  day,  and  much  more  abundant.     Now,  says  Mr.  Lowth, 


65  '  The  image  in  this  place  is  taloen  from  the  temple-service ;  in 
which  there  was  appointed  a  constant  watch,  day  and  night. — The  watches 
in  the  East,  even  to  this  day,  are  performed  by  a  loud  cry  from  time  to 
time  of  the  watchmen,  to  mark  the  time,  and  that  vei-y  frequently,  and  in 
order  to  shew  that  they  themselves  are  constantly  attentive  to  their  dut}'. 
Hence — the  greatest  reproach  to  them  is,  that  they  are  dmnb  dogs  ,•  they 
cannot  bark.'     Bp.  Lowth  on  c.  Ixii.  6. 

66  In  the  Versions  of  bp.  Lowth  and  Mr.  Dodson,  the  clause  is  thus 
rendered  :  Tea,  these  dogs  are  of  untamed  appetite :  they  inoiv  not  to  be  satis- 
fied.    Upon  this  passage  Vitringa  pertinently  cites  our  Lord's  precaution 

(Mat.  vli.  15),  Beware  of  false  teachers,  luhich  come  to  you  in  sheep's  clothing  ; 
but  iniuardly  they  arc  ravening  luolves. 

67  '  They  feed  not  the  flock,  but  fleece  it.  They  are  every  one  looking 
to  his  own  luay,  minding  his  own  private  interests.'     M.  Henry. 

68  From  the  highest  to  the  lovjest  is  the  amended  translation  of  bp.  Lowth 
and  of  Mr.  Dodson. 

69  That  is,  '  unto  their  brethren,  by  office,  and  in  iniquity.'  Poole  in 
loc.  If  it  be  enquired,  what  description  of  persons  have  with  m^ost  fre- 
quency attended  at  the  banquet,  and  shared  all  the  luxuries  of  the  table, 
tliose  who  belong  to  corrupt  governments  and  corrupt  hierarchies  will,  I 
believe,  without  hesitation  be  fixed  on.  This  part  of  the  prophecy  must 
then  be  admitted  to  be  pertinently  applied. 

Vol.  II.  N 


98  CHAP.    XXIV. 

'  the  word  shepherd  signifies  civil  governors^  as  well  as  ec- 
clesiasticat  guides,-'— whom  the  prophet  compares  to  dumb 
dogs^  that  give  no  warning  of  approaching  thieves  or  ene- 
mies, but  give  themselves  up  to  sleep  and  idleness.'  That 
the  word  watchmen  also  is  here  applicable  as  well  to  civil 
as  to  ecclesiastical  rulers,  is  observed  by  different  commen- 
tators*". It  may,  however,  be  proper  to  add,  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  Vitringa,  this  prophecy  has  a  reference  only  to 
the  ecclesiastics  of  the  Christian  world. 

This  prophetic  accusation,  if  it  may  be  so  styled,  re- 
solves itself  into  the  distinct  charges  of  indolence  or  inat- 
tention to  the  duty  of  their  stations — ^treachery — ^rapacity 
— and  immoderate  luxury.  What  proportion  of  those,  who 
have  occupied  a  gradation  of  ranks  in  the  hierarchies,  and 
ih  the  governments,  of  modern  Europe,  must  plead  guilty 
to  these  weighty  imputations,  on  the  awful  day  ef  judg- 
ment and  retribution,  it  is  not  for  man  to  decide.  But  the 
present  state  of  the  world  offers,  alas  !  to  the  least  discern- 
ing of  human  kind,  too  ample  proofs  of  the  melancholy 
effects,  which  have  originated  from  their  misconduct  and 
their  usurpations. 

70  It  is  observed  in  the  commentaries  of  Calvin,  of  Marlorat,  a  learnei 
protestant  of  the  16th  century,  and  of  Dr.  Wells,  and  in  the  Annotation^ 
of  the-  Assembly  of  Divines,  printed  in  the  yeai- 1657. 


CHAP.  XXV.  ,  99 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


©K  THE  SIXTH  VIAL;  AND  SOME  PROPHECIES  IN  THE  OLD 
TESTAMENT  RELATING  TO  THE  TURKS,  THE  ARABS,  AND 
THE   EGYPTIANS. 

ON  the  fourth  and  the  fifth  vials  many  observations 
have  been  adduced.  Of  the  two  that  are  subsequent  some 
account  also  shall  be  given. 

Since,  says  an  ingenious  French  commentator,  '  the  Apo- 
calypse is  nothing  but  a  continuation  of  the  prophetical 
history  of  Daniel,  concerning  the  fourth  monarchy,  which 
is  the  Roman  empire,'  and  since  Mahometanism  has  over- 
spread the  eastern  parts  of  the  Roman  empire  ;  *  thence  we 
may  conclude,  that  both  the  vials  and  the  trumpets  have  in 
part  for  their  object  the  Turkish  empire  and  the  Mahome- 
tan religion*.'  As  it  is,  indeed,  agreed  on  all  hands,  that 
the  book  of  Revelation  contains  a  prediction,  descriptive  of 
the  conquests  of  the  Turks,  this  circumstance  certainly 
Affords  a  presumption,  that  in  the  same  sacred  book  some 
specific  notice  should  occur  of  the  downfal  of  their  empire. 

I  now  cite  the  words  of  St.  John.  Aiid  the  sixth  angel 
poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  great  river  Euphrates  ;  and  the 
•water  thereof  xvas  dried  up^  that  the  xvay  of  the  kings  of  the 
East  might  be  prepared.  The  river  Euphrates^  says  Mr. 
Cradock,  signifies  '  the  people  inhabiting  thereabout,'  and 
*  these  are  the  Turks  that  possess  that  part  of  the  world, — 
so  that  this  vial  relates  plainly  to  the  sixth  trumpet.'  To 
the  same  purpose  speaks  that  early  Scotch  commentator, 
Mr.  Durham.  '  By  -waters  ordinarily  in  scripture  are  uht 
derstood  much  people,  and  by  Euphrates  in  particular,  those 
people  that  dwelt  about  it,  as  Isa.  viii.  7,  the  king  of  Assy- 
ria and  his  army  are  called  the  xvaters  of  the  river ^  that   is, 


1  New  Syst.  of  the  Apoc.     Se^  the  Defence  of  it,  &c.  p.  9,  IQ. 


100  CHAP.    XXV- 

of  Euphrates,  because  they  dwelt  about  it.  By  the  same 
reason,  then,  Euphrates  here  must  be  understood  of  the 
people  for  the  time  inhabiting  there  :  and  because  not  only 
in  verity  of  the  thing,  the  Turks  now  possess  that  part  of 
the  world,  but  also  (chap.  ix.  14,  &c.  of  this  book)  these 
same  people  were  marked  as  bound  about  that  river;  and 
the  loosing  of  them  noted,  as  it  were  the  overflowing  of 
that  people's  dominion  like  a  flood  from  these  parts.  So 
there  is  no  people  that  can  be  so  reasonably  understood 
here  as  Turks,  who  were  also  understood  there,  ch.  ix.  14. 
And  this  sixth  vial,  mentioning  that  river,  hath  a  special 
relation  to  the  sixth  trumpet,  where  it  was  mentioned  be- 
fore.' I  next  quote  from  Mr.  Fleming.  *  The  sixth  vial 
— will  be  poured  out  upon  the  Mahometan  Antichrist,  as 
the  former  on  the  Papacy.  And  seeing  the  sixth  trumpet 
brought  the  Turks  from  beyond  Euphrates,  from  crossing 
which  river  they  date  their  rise  ;  this  sixth  vial  dries  up  their 
waves,  and  exhausts  their  power,  as  the  means  and  way  to 
prepare  and  dispose  the  Eastern  kings  and  kingdoms  to  re- 
nounce their  Heathenish  and  Mahometan  errors,  in  order 
to  their  receiving  and  embracing  Christianity.  For  I  think 
this  is  the  native  import  of  the  text,  and  not  that  the  Jews 
are  to  be  understood  under  this  denomination  of  the  kings 
of  the  East:  which  is  such  an  odd  straining  of  it  to  serve 
a  turn,  as  I  cannot  admit  of^.' 

By  Vitringa  also  it  is  observed,  that  this  vial  7nay  reason- 
ably be  regarded  as  predicting  the  ruin  of  the  Ottoman 
empire.  Whilst,  says  he,  this  empire  may  be  denoted  by 
tht  Euphrates^  the  kmg's  of  the  East  may  be  the  princes  of 
Tartary  and  Persia.  He  had  before  remarked,  that  '  no- 
thing is  more  certain  and  better  known,  than  that  by  rivers, 
in  the  language  of  the  sacred  writings,  brave  and  numer- 
ous nations  are  to  be  understood.'  The  author  of  the  NeTx> 
System  of  the  Apocalypse,  after  asserting,  that  '  the  sixth 


2  P.  77.  This  unnatural  mode  of  interpreting-  the  expression  (for  I 
agi'ee  with  Mr.  Fleming'  that  it  is  so)  has  received  the  suftrag-es  of  various 
annotatora. 


CHAP.    XXV.  101 

vial  destroyeth  the  empire  of  the  Turks  and  their  religion ; 
which  the  sixth  trumpet  had  advanced  to  the  highest  pitch 
of  its  grandeur ;'  and  that  '  the  river  Euphrates  does  un- 
doubtedly signify  the  people  of  that  part  of  the  world  ;  as 
its  being  dried  up  denoteth  the  end  of  their  empire  ;'  re- 
marks, '  that  it  is  the  prosperity  of  Mahometanism  and 
Popery,'  that  '  hath  kept  back  the  Jews  from  the  Christian 
religion,  which  those  two  religions  have  so  much  disfi- 
gured.' But  when  these  two  false  religions,  which  are 
grafted  upon  Christianity,  shall  be  extirpated  and  destroy- 
ed, he  concludes,  that  the  descendants  of  Abraham  will 
open  their  eyes  and  be  converted^' 

Does  the  great  river  Euphrates  denote  the  Turkish  em- 
pire, then,  says  Mr.  King,  we  do,  at  this  very  time,  '  see 
this  great  emblematical  river  drying  up.  We  see  this  em- 
pire fading  away,  and  growing  exceeding  weak.  It  has 
already  been  in  great  danger  from  Russia ;  and  has  yielded 
up  much*.'  One  '  great  event,'  says  Dr.  Priestley,  '  which 
I  begin  to  flatter  myself  we  may  be  looking  forwards  to,  is 
the  fall  of  the  Turkish  empire,  when  an  end  will  be  put  to 
a  system  of  government  the  most  unfriendly  to  human 
happiness,  and  to  improvements  of  all  kinds,  that  the  world 
has  ever  groaned  under'.'  Such  a  revolution  all  the  friends 
of  freedom  cannot,  indeed,  but  anticipate  with  pleasure  ; 
and  that  it  may  be  immediate^  has  been  generally  wished* 

Very  ample  is  the  power,  very  numerous  are  the  armies, 
of  the  tyrant  of  Constantinople ;  but  the  despots  of  Vien- 
na^ and  of  Petersburg  are  yet  more  formidable.    It  is  from 


3  P.  258. 

4  Morsels  of  Criticism,  p.  447. 

5  A  Discourse  delivered  in  1791,  before  the  Supporters  of  the  New 
College,  Hackney,  p.  28.  That  the  sixth  vial  denotes  the  destruction  of 
the  Turkish  empire.  Dr.  Priestley  thinks  probable.  See  his  Institutes  of 
Nat.  and  Rev.  Rel.  2d  ed.  vol.  II.  p.  424. 

6  Great,  however,  as  is  the  power  of  the  emperor  and  the  house  of 
Austria,  there  are  circumstances  which  seem  to  pi-omise,  that  its  demo- 
iition  will  not  be  postponed  to  any  very  distant  time.  Such  are  the  im- 
mensity of  the  Austrian  deirt,  the  unwieldly  structiu-e  of  the  Germanic 


102  CHAP.  XXV. 

these  sovereigns  of  the  North^  who  enforce  the  strictest 
rules  of  modern  discipline,  and  rule  over  extensive  portions 
of  the  globe,  inhabited  by  men  at  once  fierce,  submissive, 
jind  unenlightened,  that  the  v'ictorious  cause  of  freedom 
may  be  expected  to  meet  the  greatest  pertinacity  of  oppo- 
sition. Fearing,  therefore,  lest  the  Turkish  empire,  were 
it  now  to  fall  to  pieces,  might  perhaps,  by  the  intervention 
of  these  confederated  potentates,  be  moulded  into  more 
permanent  despotisms  on  the  European  model,  and  thus 
impart  new  vigor  to  the  declining  cause  of  tyranny ;  I 
scarcely  know  how  to  entertain  the  wish,  that  the  sovereign 
ty  of  the  Ottomans  should  be  overturned,  antecedently  to 
the  introduction  of  scfme  degree  of  light  and  liberty  into 
the  territories  of  the  two  Imperial  courts.  But  perhaps 
these  fears  are  vain :  and  it  certainly  must  be  admitted, 
that  he,  who  has  reflected  on  the  depopulating  spirit  of  the 
Turkish  government,  and  contemplated  the  picture  drawn 
by  modern  travellers  of  the  wretched  state  of  its  provinces, 
can  hardly  conceive   it  possible,  that  any  change  could  oc- 


system,  and  the  interfering  interests  of  the  princes  who  support  it,  tlie 
hostile  dispositions  and  formidable  forces  of  tlie  French  republic,  her  sic- 
tual  conquest  of  the  Austrian  Netherlands,  the  well-founded  discontents 
which  prevail  in  various  parts  of  Germany,  and  t!ie  wide  diffusion  of 
literature  throug'hout  many  of  its  provinces.  On  the  last  of  these  circum- 
stances a  curious  fact  shall  be  noticed.  Dr.  Wendeboi'n,  in  his  View  of 
England,  published  in  1791,  speaking  of  •  the  number  of  books  which  are 
annually  printed  in  Germany,  compared  with  those  that  appear  in  the 
same  space  of  time  in  England,'  says,  '  It  is  calculated  with  some  cer- 
tainty, that  they  amount  on  an  average  to  5000.  I  have,  for  six  following 
j'ears,  calculated  those,  which  in  English  Reviews  are  announced  annual- 
ly, and  the  number  of  them,  small  pamphlets  and  single  sermons  excepted, 
is,  on  an  average,  not  much  above  600.  Consequently,  the  proportion  be- 
tween books  annually  published  in  England  and  in  Germany,  is  almost  as  one 
to  nine.'  vol.  II.  p.  13.  A  speedy  peace  with  the  republic  of  France  may 
perhaps  delay  the  downfal  of  the  house  of  Austria. 

7  The  despots  of  tlie  South,  I  mean  those  of  Naples  and  Turin,  of 
Lisbon  and  Madiid,  are  not  wanting  in  malevolence  of  disposition;  but 
happily  there  is  no  equaUty  between  the  extent  of  their  wishes  and  the 
extent  of  ihclr  power. 


CHAP  XXV.  103 

cur,  which  could  place  their  inhabitants  in  a  situation  more 
truly  afflicting  and  abject. 

After  a  recital  of  the  sixth  vial,  another  prophecy,  which 
occurs  in  the  last  six  verses  of  the  xith  chapter  of  Daniel, 
and  is  thought  to  refer  to  the  Turks  under  the  name  of  the 
king  of  the  North^  may  be  pertinently  alleged.  At  the  thne 
of  the  end  shall  the  king  of  the  South  push  at  him,  i.  e.  at  the 
Roman  empire,  and  particularly  the  Eastern  division  of  it, 
and  the  king  of  the  North  shall  come  against  him  like  a  rvhirl- 
7vind  xvith  chariots,  andxvith  horsefnen,  andxuith  many  ships; 
and  he  shall  enter  into  the  countries,  and  shall  overforv  and 
pass  over.  He  shall  enter  also  into  the  glorious  land,  and 
many  countries  shall  be  overthrown:  but  these  shall  escape 
out  of  his  hand,  even  Edom,  and  Moab,  and  the  chief  of  the 
children  of  Ammon.  He  shall  stretch  forth  his  hand  also 
upon  the  countries :  and  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  not  escape. 
But  he  shall  have  poxver  over  the  treasures  of  gold  and  of 
silver,  and  over  all  the  precious  things  of  Egypt :  and  the 
Lybians  and  the  Ethiopians  shall  be  at  his  steps.  But  tidings 
out  of  the  East  and  out  of  the  North  shall  trouble  him:  there-, 
fore  he  shall  go  forth  xvith  great  fury  to  destroy,  and  utterly 
to  make  axvay  7tia}iy.  And  he  shall  plant  the  tabernacles  of 
his  palaces  betxveen  the  seas  in  the  glorious  holy  mountain; 
yet  he  shall  come  to  his  end,  and  none  shall  help  him. 

That  the  king  of  the  North  signifies  the  Turkish  power 
or  empire,  and  the  king  of  the  South,  that  of  the  Saracens, 
is  the  general  opinion  of  modem  commentators ;  of  Mede 
and  Brightman,  of  Dr.  More  and  Dr.  Wells,  of  bp.  New- 
ton and  Sir  I.  Newton,  of  Mr.  Lowth,  Mr.  Wintle,  and 
Mr.  Samuel  Clark. 

'  At  the  time  of  the  end^  says  bp.  Newton',  *  that  is  (as 
Mr.  Mede  rightly  expounds  it**)  in  the  latter  days  of  the 
Roman  empire,  shall  the  ki7ig  of  the  South  push  at  him :  that 
is  the  Saracens,  who  were  of  the  Arabians,  and  came  from 
the  South  ;  and  under  the  conduct  of  the  false  prophet  Mo- 
hammed and  his  successors,  made  a  religious  or  rather  irre- 

8  Vol  II.  p.  170.  9  P.  1001, 


104  CHAP.    XXV. 

ligious  war  upon  the  emperor  Heraclius,  and  deprived  him 
of  Egypt  and  many  of  his   finest  provinces.     They  were 
only  to  push  at^  and  sorely  wound  the  Greek   empire,  but 
they  were  not  to  subvert  and  destroy  it.     And  the  king  of 
ilie  North  shall  come  against  him  like  a  whirlwind  with  cha- 
riots and  with  horsemen^  and  with  many  ships^  and  he  shall 
enter  into  the  countries^  and  shall  overjlow  and  pass  over: 
that  is  the  Turks,  who  were  originally  of  the  Scythians,  and 
came  from  the  North;  and  after  the  Saracens  seized  on 
Syria,  and  assaulted  with  great  violence  the  remains  of  the 
Greek  empire,  and  in  time  rendered  themselves  absolute 
masters  of   the  whole.     The    Saracens  dismembered  and 
weakened  the  Greek  empire,  but  the.  Turks  totally  ruined 
and  destroyed  it :   and  for  this  reason,  we  may  presume,  so 
much  more  is  said  of  the  Turks  than  of  the  Saracens.  Their 
chariots  and  their  horsemen  are  particularly  mentioned  ;  be- 
cause their  armies   consisted  chiefly   of    horse,   especially 
before  the  institution  of  the  Janizaries ;'  and  it  is  this  cir- 
cumstance, says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  which  makes  them  carry  an 
Horse-tail  before  their  chief  officers,  as  an  ensign  of  honor.' 
'  Their  ships  too,'  observes  bp.   Newton,  *  are  said  to  be 
many ;  and  indeed  without  many  ships  they  could  never  have 
gotten  possession  of  so  many  islands   and  maritime   coun- 
tries, nor  have  so  frequently  vanquished  the  Venetians,  who 
were  at  that  time  the  greatest  naval  power  in  Europe.  What 
fleets,  what  armies  were  employed  in  the  besieging  and  tak- 
ing of  Constantinople,  of  Negropont,  or  Euboea,  of  Rhodes, 
of  Cyprus,  and  lastly  of  Candy  or  Crete  ?'     '  The  prophet,' 
observes  Mr.   Wintle,  '  has  several  times  in  this  narrative 
expressed  the  progress  and  havoc  of  war  by  the  ravages  of 
an  inundation,  and  we   find  the  like  allusion  at  the  end  of 
this  verse.'     The  words,  shall  enter  into  the  countries^  and 
overflow^  and  pass  over^  '  give  us,'  says  the  bp.  of  Bristol, 
'  an  exact  idea  of  their  oversowing  the  western  parts  of 
Asia,  and  then  passing  over  into  Europe,  and  fixing  the  seat 
of  their  empire  at  Constantinople,  as  they  did  under  their 
seventh  emperor  Mohammed  the  second.' 


CHAP.  kXV.  105 

He  shall  enter  also  into  the  glorious  land,  and  many  coun^ 
tries  shall  be  overthrown.  '  The  same  expression  of  the 
glorious  land^  says  bp.  Newton,  *  was  used  before  (ver.  6) ; 
and  in  both  places  it  is  rendered  by  the  Syriac  translator  the 
land  of  Israel.  Now  nothing  is  better  known^  than  that  the 
Turks  took  possession  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  remain  mas- 
ters of  it  to  this  day.'  But  these  shall  escape  out  of  his  hand^ 
even  Edom,  and  Moab,  and  the  chief  of  the  children  of  Am- 
Tnon.  '  Edom  and  Moab  and  the  Ammonites,'  says  Mr. 
Wintle,  '  are  thus  joined,  Jer.  xxv.  21.  *  and  we  meet  with 
them  again  together,  Isa.  xi.  14.  *  They  were  all  to  the 
east  or  south-east  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  now  make  a  part  of 
the  extensive  range  of  the  wild  Arabs.'  Sultan  Selim,  ob- 
serves bishop  Newton,  '  was  the  conqueror  of  the  neigh- 
boring countries,  and  annexed  them  to  the  Othman  empire  ; 
but  he  could  not  make  a  complete  conquest  of  the  Arabians, 
— Ever  since  his  time,  the  Othman  emperors  have  paid 
them  an  annual  pension  of  forty  thousand  crowns  of  gold, 
for  the  safe  passage  of  the  caravans  and  pilgrims  going  to 
Mecca:  and  for  their  farther  security  the  Sultan  commonly 
orders  the  Bashaw  of  Damascus  to  attend  them  with  sol- 
diers and  water-bearers,  and  to  take  care  that  their  numbers 
never  fall  short  of  14,000.'  The  Arabians,  notwithstand- 
ing these  precautions,  have  sometimes  plundered  the  cara- 
vans ;  and  though  armies  have  marched  against  them,  they 
have  remained  unsubdued.  '  These  free-booters  have  com- 
monly been  too  cunning  for  their  enemies  :  and  when  it 
was  thought  they  were  well  nigh  surrounded  and  taken, 
they  have  still  escaped  out  of  their  hands.  So  well  doth  this 
particular  prediction,  relating  to  some  of  the  tribes  of  the 
Arabians,  agree  with  that  general  one  concerning  the  main 
body  of  the  nation,'  which  is  recorded  in  the  xvith  chapter 
of  Genesis. 

He  shall  stretch  forth  his  hand  also  upon  the  Countries. 
'  This,'  savs  the  bishop  of  Bristol,  '  implies,  that  his  domi- 
nions should  be  of  large  extent ;  and  he  hath  stretched  forth 
his  hand  upon  many,  not  only  Asian  and  European,  bUt 
Vol.  II.  o 


106  CHAP.  xxr» 

likewise  African  countries.  Eg}  pt  in  particular  was  destined 
to  submit  to  his  yoke :  and  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  not  escape. 
And  the  conquest  of  Egypt  with  the  neighboring  countries 
follows  next  in  order  after  the  conquest  of  Judea,  with  the 
neighboring  countries,  as  in  the  prophecy,  so  likewise  in 
history.  The  Othman  emperor  Selim,  having  routed  and 
slain  Gauri  sultan  of  Egypt,  in  a  battle  near  Aleppo,  be- 
came master  of  all  Syria  and  Judea.  He  then  marched 
into  Egypt  against'  the  new  sultan,  whom  he  defeated,  cap- 
tured, and  put  to  death ;  and  so  put  an  end  to  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Mamalukes,  and  established  that  of  the  Turks, 
In  Egypt.  *  The  prophecy  says  particularly,  that  he  should 
have  power  over  the  treasures  of  gold  and  of  silver^  and  over 
all  the  precious  things  of  Egypt:  and  history  informs  us, 
that  when  Cairo  was  taken,'  "  the  Turks  rifled  the  houses 
of  the  Egyptians,  as  well  friends  as  foes,  and  suffered  no- 
thing to  be  locked  up  or  kept  private  from  them :  and  Selim 
caused  500  of  the  chiefest  families  of  the  Egyptians  to  be 
transported  to  Constantinople^  as  likewise  a  great  number 
of  the  Mamalukes  wives  and  children,  besides  th-e  sultan's 
treasure  and  other  vast  riches'°."  '  And  since  that  time  it 
is  impossible  to  say  what  immense  treasures  have  been 
drained  out  of  thia  rich  and  fertile,  but  oppressed  and 
wretched  country.'  Edward  King,  Esq.  in  his'  Morsels  of 
Criticism^  gives  a  somewhat  different  turn  to  the  passage 
tinder  review.  '  It  seems,'  says  he,  '  not  a  little  remark- 
able, that  the  expression  is  not  should  possess  them^  but 
shoidd  have  dominion  over  them^  so  the  Turks  have  really 
had  the  command  of  Egy]3t,  and  of  its  treasures  and  desir- 
able things,  without  availing,  themselves  hardly  at  all  of  the 
benefit  of  those  riches".' 

And  the  Lybians  and  Ethiopians  shall  be  at  his  steps,- 
*  And  we  read  in  history,'  says  bishop  Newton,  *  that  after 
the  conquest  of  Egypt  "  the  terror  of  Selim's  many  vic- 
tories now  spreading  wide,  the   kings  of  Afric,  bordering 

10  Savage's  Abridg-ement  of  KnoUes  and  Rycaut.  p.  246. 

11  r  510. 


CHAP.  XXV.  107 

upon  Cyrenaica,  sent  their  ambassadors  with  proffers  to  be- 
come his  tributaries.  Other  more  remote  nations  also  towards 
Ethiopia  were  easily  induced  to  join  in  amity  with  the 
Turks"."  '  At  this  present  time  also  many  places  in  Africa 
besides  Egypt,  as  Algiers,  Tunis,  &c,  are  under  the  domi- 
nion of  the  Turks.  One  thing  more  is  observable  with 
regard  to  the  fate  of  Egypt,  that  the  particular  prophecy 
coincides  exactly  with  the  general  one,  as  it  did  before  in 
the  instance  of  Arabia.  It  was  foretold  by  Ezekiel,  that 
Eg}^pt  should  always  be  a  base  kingdom^  and  subject  to 
strangers  ;  and  here  it  is  foretold,  that  in  the  latter  times 
it  should  be  made  a  province  to  the  Turks.' 

The  two  next  verses,  in  the  opinion  of  the  several  com- 
mentators whom  I  have  enumerated,  remain  to  be  fulfilled. 
But  tidings  out  of  the  East  and  out  of  the  North  shall  trou' 
hie  him  ;  therefore  he  shall  go  forth  with  great  fury  to 
destroy y  and  utterly  to  make  axvay  many.  With  respect  to 
the  tidings  out  of  the  East,  these,  says  Dr.  More,  *•  may 
very  Avell  contemporise  with  the  sixth  vial,  which  is  poured 
out  upon  the  river  Euphrates,  whereby  its  waters  are  di  yed 
up,  and  a  way  to  the  kings  of  the  East  prepared^'^,  which 
shews  some  great  mutation  of  affairs  and  jeopardy,  that  th^ 
Turkish  empire  in  those  Eastern  parts  will  seem  to  be  in»' 

'  The  Persians,'  says  bishop  Newton,  '  are  seated  to  the 
East  of  the  Othman  dominions,  and  the  Russians  to  the 
North.  Persia  hath,  indeed,  of  late  years,  been  miserably 
torn  and  distracted  by  intestine  divisions ;  but  when  it  shall 
unite  again  in  a  settled  government  under  one  sovereign,  it 
may  become  again,  as  it  hath  frequently  been,  a  dangerous 
rival  and  enemy  to  the  Othman  emperor.  The  power  of 
Russia  is  growing  daily;'  and  'the  Porte  is  at  all  times 
jealous  of  the  junction  of  the  two  powers  of  Persia  and 
Russia,  and  exerts  all  its  policy  to  prevent  it.'    '  It  is,'  says 


12  Savage,  ibid,  p.  248. 

13  That  this  pi-ophecy  of  Daniel,  and  the  sixth  vial  are  contempora- 
neous, is  thoug'ht  probable  also  by  Dr.  Priestley.  Institutes  of  Nat.  and 
Rev.  Rel.  vol.  II.  p.  424. 


Ids  CHAP.  XXV. 

Mr.  King,  an  *  astonishing  coincidence  of  circumstances; 
that  as  the  whole  Russian  dominions  lie  North  of  the 
Turkish  dominions ;  so  the  exertions  of  Russia  have  been 
not  only  in  the  North  ;  but  in  a  most  remarkable  manner  in 
the  East;  where  vast  advantages  of  commerce,  and  of  ex- 
tent of  dominion,  have  been  obtained  by  the  Russians  to- 
wards China'*.' 

And  he  shall  plant  the  tabernacles  of  his  palaces  between 
the  seas  in  the  glorious  holy  mountain  ;  yet  he  shall  come^*  to 
his  e7id^  and  none  shall  help  him.  The  glorious  holy  moun- 
tain between  the  Seas^  in  the  opinion  of  bp.  Newton,  must 
signify  *  some  mountain  in  the  Holy  Land,  which  lieth 
between  the  ser<s^  the  Dead  Sea  on  the  East  and  the  Medi- 
terranean on  the  West. — There  the  Turk  shall  incamp  with 
all  his  power,  ye'  he  shall  co?ne  to  his  end^  and  none  shall 
help  him^  shall  help  him  effectually,  or  deliver  him.' 

As  there  has  been  incidental  mention  in  the  present  chap- 
ter of  two  ancient  predictions,  the  one  relating  to  the  Arabs, 
and  the  other  to  Egypt ;  and  as  both  of  them  are  remark- 
able, and  they  are  both  at  this  time  fulfilling,  I  shall  tran- 
scribe them,  and  to  endeavor  to  elucidate  their  completion 
by  a  mixture  of  remarks  and  quotations.  The  remarks 
necessary  to  explain  them,  from  the  nature  of  the  subjects, 
and  the  situation  of  the  countries,  perfectly  accord  with, 
and  may  naturally  accompany,  the  observations  which  have 
occupied  the  preceding  part  of  the  chapter.  Both  these 
prophecies  have  been  commented  upon  at  considerable 
length  by  bp.  Newton'^  and  Dr.  Worthington"* ;  but  they 
certainly  have  not  precluded  all  additional  remark. 

It  is  in  the  xvith  ch.  of  Genesis,  that  a  prophetic  delinea- 
tion of  the  cha)-acter  of  Ishmael  and  his  posterity  occurs. 
Now  Ishmael  settled  in  Arabia'' ;  and  his  posterity  have 

14  Morsels  of  Ciiticism,  p.  5X1. 

15  In  his  iid  and  xiith  Dissertations,  p.  37 — 63;  p.  378 — 398- 

16  In  the  ixth,  xith,  and  xiith  of  his  Discourses,  p.  346 — 375 ;  419 — ■. 
494. 

17  See  Genesis,  ch.  xxi.  21,  and  xxv.  13 — 18,  with  the  geographical 
observations  of  the  commentators  ;  and  Josephus  (Antiq.  1.  i.  c.l3).  That 


QHAP.  XXV.  109 

never  been  dispossessed  of  that  country ;  and  it  may  be 
observed,  that  there  is  scarcely  a  country  in  the  world, 
where  so  small  a  portion  of  foreign  blood  has  been  mixed 
with  that  of  the  natives.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said 
unto  Hagar,  /  will  multiply  thy  seed  exceedingly^  that  it 
shall  ?iot  be  numbered  for  multitude.  And  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  said  unto  her^  Behold^  thou  art  rvith  child^  and  shalt 
bear  a  son^  and  shalt  call  his  name  Ishmael;  because  the  Lord 
hath  heard  thy  ajffliction^^*  And  he  rvill  be  a  wild  man;  his 
handtvill  be  against  every  man^  and  every  man's  hand  against 
him;  and  he  shall  dxuell  in  the  presence  of  all  his  brethren^^. 
And  in  the  following  chapter  it  is  said,  I  rvill  make  him  a 
great  nation ;  a  declaration,  which  was  communicated  by 
the  most  High  to  Abraham,  the  founder  of  those  two  cele- 
brated nations,  the  Arabs  and  the  Jews*°. 

Ishmael  was  to  be  the  parent  of  a  great  nation  ;  and  ac- 
cordingly, though  it  is  admitted  that  he  was  not  the  sole 


the  posterity  of  Ishmael  lived  in  Arabia,  is  observed  by  all  the  Oriental 
^v^iters,  according  to  bishop  Patrick  (on  Gen.  xxi.  21).  In  the  xxvth  ch, 
of  Genesis,  where  the  twelve  sous  of  Ishmael  are  enumerated,  it  is  ob- 
served, that  Nebaioth  was  the  eldest.  •  As,'  saith  bp.  Patrick  (in  loc), 
'  he  was  the  first-bom  of  Ishmael,  so  his  postesity  gave  the  denomination 
to  the  whole  country  of  Arabia  Petrxa,  which  Pliny,  Strabo,  and  Ptolemy 
call  Nabatsea ;  and  sometimes  other  authors  call  Nabathis :  as  the  inha- 
bitants were  called  Nabataei,  who  are  mentioned  also  by  Dionysius  Perie- 
getes,  in  his  Description  of  the  world,  and  by  Plutarch  in  his  life  of 
Demetrius.' 

18  E)r.  Geddes  translates,  whose  name  thou  shalt  call  Ishmael  [God  at- 
tendeth],  because  the  Lord  hath  attended  to  thy  affliction, 

19  V.  10,  11,  12.  Dr.  Geddes  translates,  and  in  the  face  of  all  his  bre- 
thren he  liiill pitch  his  tents.  That  is,  says  this  learned  writer,  he  will  bid 
them  *  all  defiance,  conformably  to  what  is  said  of  him  before.'  My  next 
quotation  is  from  Calvin  (in  loc),  ♦  It  is  in  the  first  place  to  be  desired 
that  we  should  have  peace  with  all  men.  Because  this  is  denied  to  Ish- 
mael, what  is  next  in  order  is  given  to  him,  that  he  should  not  yield  to 
his  enemies,  but  should  be  brave,  ^nd  powerful  in  repelling  their  attacks. 
But  he  does  not  speak  of  the  person  of  the  man,  but  of  his  whole  pro- 
geny.' 

20  It  is  observable,  that  the  language  of  the  Arabs  *  is  derived  from 
the  same  original  stock  with  the  Hebrew,  Syriac,  and  the  Chaldaean 
*ongues.'  Gibbon's  Decl   and  Fall  of  the  Rom.  Emp.  vqI.  IX.  p.  239. 


\ 


110  CHAP.    XXV. 

founder  of  all  the  Arabian  tribes,  there  is  reason  to  believe, 
that  the  families  of  his  twelve  sons,  penetrating  a  country 
which  was  before  unoccupied,  and  gaining  their  subsistence 
by  hunting,  were  widely  scattered,  and  that  his  descendants 
rapidly  multiplied  and  soon  constituted  a  numerous  people. 
^  The  descendants  of  Ishmael  were,*  says  Dr.  Priestley, 
'  a  considerable  nation  in  very  early  times.*  At  present, 
*  all  the  Northern  coasts  of  Africa  abound  with  Arabs  ; 
Palestine  is  now  almost  entirely  occupied  by  them ;  they 
also  still  retain  ^their  ancient  seats,  and  are  as  numerous 
there  as  ever*'.' 

Ishmael,  it  is  predicted,  will  be  a  wild  man.  The  Hebrew 
word  *  here  joined  with  man  signifies,'  says  bp.  Patrick,  '  a 
■wild  ass:  and  so  it  is  well  translated  by  '  Bochart,  tamferus 
quam  onager.^  '  But  what,'  asks  bp.  Newton, '  is  the  nature 
of  the  creature,  to  which  Ishmael  is  so  particularly  com- 
pared ?  It  cannot,'  says  the  prelate,  '  be  described  better 
than  it  is  in  the — book  of  Job  (xxxix.  5,  &c.),  wAo  hath 
sent  out  the  wild  ass  free?  or  ivho  hath  loosed  the  hands  of 
the  wild  ass.  Whose  house  I  have  made  the  wilderness^  and 
the  barren  land  his  dxvellings.  He  scorneth  the  multitude 
of  the  city^  neither  regardeth  he  the  crying  of  the  driver. 
The  range  of  the  mountains  is  his  pasture,  and  he  searcheth 
after  every  green  thing.  Ishmael  therefore  and  his  pos- 
terity were  to  be  wild,  fierce,  savage,  ranging  in  the  deserts,^ 
and  not  easily  softened  and  tamed  to  society :  and  whoever 
hath  read  or  known  any  thing  of  this  people  knoweth  this 
to  be  their  true  and  genuine  character.'  Like  the  wild  ass 
they  were  also  to  be  perfectly  free,  impatient  of  control,  and 
the  sole  directors  of  their  own  movements.  '  The  slaves 
of  domestic  tyranny,*  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  may  vainly  exult 
in  their  national  independence ;  but  the  Arab  is  personally 
free".' 


21  Institutes  of  Nat.  and  Rev.  Rel.  vol.  I.  p.  405. 

22  Vol.  IX.  p.  233.  '  If,'  says  Gibbon,  *  tlie  Arabian  princes  abuse 
their  power,  they  are  quickly  punished  by  tlie  desertion  of  their  subjects, 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  a  mild  and  parental  jurisdiction.     Their 


CHAP.    XXV.  Ill 

Of  Ishmael  It  is  said,  that  he  dwelt  in  the  xuilderness^  and 
became  an  archer^^ ;  '  and  the  same,'  says  bp.  Newton,  *  is 
no  less  true  of  his  descendants  than  of  himself.  He  dwelt 
in  the  xuilderness ;  and  his  sons  still  inhabit  the  same  wilder- 
ness, and  many  of  them  neither  sow  nor  plant  according  to 
the  best  accounts  ancient  and  modern.'  '  There  is  no  such 
name,'  says  Dr.  Shaw,  as  that  of  wild  Arabs,  *  peculiar  to 
any  one  particular  clan  or  body  of  them,  they  being  all  the 
same^  with  the  like  inclinations ^  when  a  proper  opportunity 
or  temptation  offers  itself**.' 

The  handoi  the  Ishmaelite,  it  is  predicted, Tt;z7/ ^e  against 
every  man,  and  every  man^s  hand  against  him,  *  And  it  is 
well  known,'  says  Dr.  Priestley,  '  that  the  Arabs,  and,  pro- 
bably, the  Arabs  only,  of  all  the  nations  of  the  world,  have 
constantly  lived  in  a  state  of  hostility  with  all  mankind^*.' 
*•  David,'  says  Dr.  Worthington,  bemoans  the  hardship  of 
his  case,  that  he  was  constrained  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of 
Kedar,  a  tribe  of  the  Arabs  ;  whither  he  was  forced  to  flee 
for  refuge  from  his  enemies ;  which  was  but  exchanging  one 
enemy  for  another,  as  he  himself  complains.  My  soul  hath 
iong  dwelt  atnong  them  that  are  enemies  to  peace.  I  labor  for 
peace  :  but  when  I  speak  unto  them  thereof,  they  make  them 
ready  for  battle^.^  In  speaking  of  the  Arabian  tribes,  Mr- 
Gibbon  says,  '  the  caravans  that  traverse  the  desert  are  ran- 
somed or  pillaged  j  and  their  neighbors,  since  the  remote 
times  of  Job  and  Sesostris^^,  have  been  the  victims  of  their 

spirit  is  free,  their  steps  are  unconfined,  the  desert  is  open,  and  the  tribes 
and  families  are  held  together  by  a  mutual  and  voluntary  compact.'  In 
a  tribe  of  Arabs,  says  Volney,  'nothing'  can  be  transacted  without  the 
consent  of  a  majority  ;'  and  if  a  chief  were  to  '  kill  an  Arab,  it  would 
be  almost  impossible  for  him  to  escape  punishment ;  the  resentment  of  the 
©ffcnded  party  would  pay  no  respect  to  his  dignity.'  Travels,  vol.  I.  p. 
402. 

23  Gen.  xxi.  20.  24  Shaw's  Travels,  pref.  p.  10. 

25  Ut  supra,  p.  406.  26  Ps.  cxx.  5,  6,  7. 

27  '  Observe  the  first  chapter  of  Job,  and  the  long  wall  of  1500  stadia, 
which  Sesostris  built  from  Pelusium  to  HeliopoUs  (Diodor,  Sicul.  torn.  I. 
V  i    p.  67;,'     Gibbon, 


112  CHAP.    XXV. 

rapacious  spirit.  If  a  Bedoween  discovers  from  afar  a  soli- 
tary traveller,  he  rides  furiously  against  him,  crying,  with 
a  loud  voice,  "  Undress  thyself,  thy  aunt  f  mz/  wife  J  is 
without  a  garment."  A  ready  submission  entitles  him  to 
mercy;  resistance  will  provoke  the  aggressor,  and  his  own 
blood  must  expiate  the  blood,  which  he  presumes  to  shed 
in  legitimate  defence^^ 

The  year  1757  afforded  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  plun- 
dering spirit  of  the  wanderers  of  Arabia*'.  Assembled  in 
immense  numbers,  and  irritated  on  account  of  not  having 
received  a  tribute  they  had  claimed  of  the  Turks,  they  at- 
tacked and  pillaged  the  caravan  of  Mecca,  conducted  by  the 
Pacha  of  Damascus ;  and  of  the  60,000  pilgrims  and  tra- 
vellers of  which  it  was  composed,  20,000  are  said  to  have 
been  destroyed  by  hunger,  by  thirst,  and  by  the  sword  of 
the  Arabs^°. 

As  the  hand  of  the  Arab  was  to  be  raised  up  against 
every  man,  so  every  man's  hand  was  to  be  lifted  up  against 
him.  Acc6rdingly  the  most  powerful  neighbors  of  the 
Arabs,  the  Persians  and  the  Turks,  are,  at  this  very  time, 
accustomed  to  carry  on  frequent  hostilities  against  them. 
When  the  Arabs,  says  Mr.  Hanway,  '  plunder  caravans 
travelling  through  their  territories,  they  consider  it  as  re- 
prisals on  the  Turks  and  Persians,  who  often  make  in- 
roads into  their  country,  and  carry  away  their  corn  and 
their  flocks^'.'  The  Turks,  says  Volney,  '  never  cease  to 
wage  secret  or  open  war  against  them.     The  Pachas  study 


28  Gibbon,  vol.  IX.  p.  236. 

29  '  It  is  a  singular  proof  of  the  predatory  spirit  of  the  Arabs,  that  al- 
though all  their  independent  tribes  are  zealous  Mahomedans,  yet  they  make 
no  scruple  of  plundering  the  caravans  of  pilgrims,  while  engaged  in  per-- 
forming  one  of  the  most  indispensable  duties  of  their  religion.'  Ur.  Ro- 
bertson's Hist.  Disq.  on  India,  8vo.  p.  404. 

30  See  Volney's  Travels,  vol.  II.  p.  103,  257,  273,  341 ;  Gibbon's  Decl. 
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Emp.  vol.  IX.  p.  231 ;  bp.  Newton  on  the  Prophe- 
cies, vol.  II.  p.  176;  and  Travels  through  Cyprus,  Syria,  &c.  by  the  Abbe 
Mariti,  vol.  II.  p.  117. 

31  Hanwax's  Travels,  1753,  4to.  vol.  IV.  p.  221 


CHAP.    XXV.  112 

every  occasion  to  harass  them.  Sometimes  they  contest 
with  them  a  territory  which  they  had  let  to  them,  and  at 
others  demand  a  tribute  which  they  never  agreed  to  pay^*.* 
Nor  do  the  natives  of  Arabia  carry  on  only  foreign  hos- 
tilities. Perpetually  is  the  hand  of  Arab  lifted  up  against 
Arab.  '  The  temper  of  a  people,  thus  armed  against  man- 
kind, was,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  doubly  inflamed  by  the  do- 
mestic license  of  rapine,  murder,  and  revenge.  In  the 
constitution  of  Europe,  the  right  of  peace  and  war  is  now 
confined  to  a  small,  and  the  actual  exercise  to  a  much 
smaller,  list  of  respectable  potentates ;  but  each  Arab,  with 
impunity  and  renown,  might  point  his  javelin  against  the 
life  of  his  countryman. — Of  the  time  of  ignorance  which 
preceded  Mahomet,  1 700  battles  are  recorded  by  tradition : 
hostility  was  embittered  by  the  rancour  of  civil  faction ; 
and  the  recital,  in  prose  or  verse,  of  an  obsolete  feud  was 
sufficient  to  rekindle  the  same  passions  among  the  descend- 
ants of  the  hostile  tribes.  In  private  life,  every  man,  at 
least  every  family,  was  the  judge  and  avenger  of  his  own 
cause.  The  nice  sensibility  of  honor,  which  weighs  the 
insult  rather  than  the  injury,  sheds  its  deadly  venom  on  the 
quarrels  of  the  Arabs :  the  honor  of  their  women,  and  of 
their  beards,  is  most  easily  wounded;  an  indecent  action,  a 
contemptuous  word,  can  be  expiated  only  by  the  blood  of 
the  offender ;  and  such  is  their  patient  inveteracy,  that  they 
expect  whole  months  and  years  the  opportunity  of  tevenge. 
The  refined  malice  of  the  Arabs  refuses  even  the  head  of 
the  murderer,  substitutes  an  innocent  to  the  guilty  person, 
and  transfers  the  penalty  to  the  best  and  most  considerable 
of  the  race  by  whom  they  have  been  injured.     If  he  falls 


32  Travels  through  Syria  and  Egypt,  in  the  years  1783,  1784,  and  1785, 
by  M.  C.  F.  Volney,  translated  from  the  French,  1787.  Vol.  I.  p.  399, 
The  «  accuracy'  of  Volney,  says  Dr.  Robertson,  •  is  well  known'  (Hist. 
Disq.  on  India,  8vo.  p.  402).  Volney,  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  is  *  the  last  and 
most  judicious  of  our  Syrian  travellers  ;'  and,  speaking  of  Egypt,  he  says, 
'  we  are  amused  by  Savary,  and  instructed  by  Volney.  I  wish  th«  latCer 
could  travel  over  the  globe.'    Vol.  IX.  p.  224,  448. 

Vol.  II  p 


114  «1IAP.  XXV. 

by  their  hands,  they  are  exposed  in  their  turn  to  the  danger 
of  reprisals,  the  interest  and  principal  of  the  bloody  debt 
are  accumulated  ;  the  individuals  of  either  family  lead  a 
h'fe  of  malice  and  suspicion,  and  fifty  years  may  sometimes 
elapse  before  the  account  of  revenge  be  finally  settled".* 

*  That  his  hand  should  be  agaiJist  every  man^  and  every 
man's  hand  against  him^  and  yet  that  he  should  be  able  to 
dwell  in  the  presence  of  all  his  brethren^  is,  says  bp.  New- 
ton, extraordinary.  '  But  extraordinary  as  it  was,  this  also 
hath  been  fulfilled.'  Syria,  Palestine,  Egypt,  and  Persia 
are  the  countries  that  touch,  and  may  be  said  to  surround, 
Arabia ;  those  countries  have  often  been  conquered ;  but 
the  land  inhabited  by  the  descendants  of  Ishmael  has  never 
been  subdued^. 


33  Vol.  IX.  p.  237—239.  To  the  statement  of  Mr.  Gibbon  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  add  two  short  passages  from  two  modern  travellers.  *  The 
different  tribes,'  says  Mr.  Hanway,  '  are  often  at  war  with  each  other.' 
Ut  supra,  vol.  IV.  p.  222.  They  are  not,  says  Dr.  Shaw,  '  to  be  accused 
for  plundering  strangers  only,  or  whomsoever  they  may  find  unarmed  or 
defenceless  j  but  for  those  many  implacable  and  hereditary  animosities, 
which  continually  subsist  among  themselves.'  Shaw's  Travels,  1757,  4to. 
p.  238. 

34  Arabia,  or  some  particular  districts  of  it,  was  attacked  by  the  follow- 
ing generals  and  nations  :  by  Sesostris,  or  Sesac,  king  of  Egypt,  according 
to  Sir  I.  Newton  in  the  year  1010,  B.  C. ;  in  the  sixth  centuiy  before  the 
Christian  jera  by  Cyrus,  the  founder  of  the  Persian  monarchy,  and  by  his 
son  Cambyses  ,-  in  the  year  311  by  Athenaeus,  the  general  of  Antigonus, 
and  by  his  son  Demetrius ;  in  the  year  216  by  Antiochus  the  great ;  about 
the  year  187  by  Hyrcanus ;  in  the  year  63  by  the  Romans  under  the  com- 
mand of  Pompey  ;  in  the  year  55  by  the  Roman  general,  Gabinius  ;  in  the 
year  32  by  Herod,  kind  of  Judea  and  the  ally  of  Marc  Anthony  ;  in  the 
year  22  by  yElius  Gallus,  one  of  the  generals  of  Augustus  ;  about  the  year 
106  A.  C.  by  the  emperor  Trajan;  about  the  year  193  by  the  emperor  Se- 
verus  ;  in  tlie  year  523  by  Caled,  king  of  Abyssiria  ;  in  the  year  570  by 
Chosroes^  oc  Nurshirvan,  the  sovereign  of  Persia  and  India  ;  in  the  year 
1173  by  an  army  of  Curds  or  Carduchians,  under  the  orders  of  the  great 
Saladin,  Sultan  of  Egypt,  and  commanded  by  the  bi-other  of  the  Sultan  ■, 
in  the  year  1538  by  tlie  lieutenant  of  Soliman  the  Ist,  emperor  of  the 
Turks  ;  and  in  1568  by  Selim  the  lid.  From  the  year  570  to  1 173  a  wide 
interval  elapsed.  The  length  of  the  period  ought  not,  however,  to  sui'- 
prise  the  reader,  for  long  afte?  the  conquests  of  Mahomet  and  the  Ara- 


CHAP.    XX V»  115 

*  It  cannot,'  says  bp.  Newton,  '  be  pretended,  that  no 
probable  attempts  were  ever  made  to  conquer  them.;  for  the 
greatest  conquerors  in  the  world  have  almost  all  in  tKejj- 
turns  attempted  it,  and  some  of  them  have  been  very 
near  effecting  it.  It  cannot  be  pretended,  that  the  dry- 
ness or  inaccessibleness  of  their  country  hath  been  their 
preservation  ;  for  their  country  hath  been  often  penetrated, 
though  never  entirely  subdued.*  *  I  believe,'  says  Dr.  De- 
lany,  '  it  will  be  allowed,  that  an  army,  well  provided,  may 
\ery  well  be  supposed  capable  of  doing,  what  caravans  are 
now  known  to  do  every  day".' 

By  him  who  contemplates  the  map  of  Arabia,  it  will  per- 
haps be  urged,  that  notwithstanding  the  most  powerful 
princes  and  the  best  disciplined  armies  have  often  spread 
their  conquests  to  its  frontiers  :  yet  its  having  successfully 
resisted  every  attack  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  immense 
number  of  inhabitants,  which  a  country  so  extensive  must 
doubtless  contain.  But  this  is  a  statement  which  an  enquiry 
into  facts  will  completely  invalidate.  The  inhabitants  of 
Arabia,  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  might  be  out-numbered  by  the 
subjects  of  a  fertile  and  industrious  province^*.'  But  if  the 
populousness  of  Arabia  has  not  prevented  its  conquest,  its 
extent^  it  may  perhaps  be  urged,  may  have  preserved  its 
independence.  Ev^ry  one,  however,  who  is  moderately 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  revolutions  of  Asia, 
knows,  that  the  size  of  Arabia  is  very  inconsiderable,  when 
it  is  compared  with  the  extent  of  the  regions  which  the 
conquerors  of  the  East  have  been  accustomed  to  subdue  or 
to  over-run^^. 


bian  caliphs,  the  power  or  tlie  fame  of  Arabia  was  sufficient  to  guard  that 
country  from  invasion.  To  have  given  particular  authorities  for  all  these 
facts  and  dates  would  have  occupied  too  large  a  space.  The  greater  part 
of  thena  are  stated,  and  supported  by  autliorities,  in  the  XXth  vol.  of  the 
Ancient  Universal  History,  where  a  Dissertation  occurs  on  the  Independency 
■ff  the  Arabs  (p.  196—250). 

35  Sevelatien  exainined  with  Candor,  1732,  vol.  II.  p.  130. 

36  Vol.  IX.  p.  223. 

37  In  order  to  illustrate  tlie  assertion  of  the  text,  I  shall  introduce  a 
concise  narrative  of  the  conquests  of  Attila,  Zingis,    and  Tamerlaiie 


116  CHAP.   XXV. 

In  the  nature  of  their  country  there  are,  it  may  be  added, 
two  circumstances,  unfavorable  to  the  independence  of  the 

Attila  was  king  of  tlie  Huns  in  the  5th  century.  He  united,  says  Mr. 
Gibbon,  'the  two  mighty  kingdoms  of  Germany  and  Scytliia;  and  those 
vague  appellations,  when  they  are  applied  to  bis  reign,  may  be  understood 
with  an  ample  latitude.'  Now  *  fi'om  the  mouth  of  the  Danube  to  the 
sea  of  Japan  the  whole  longitude  of  Scythia  is  about  110  degrees,  which, 
in  that  j>.irallel,  are  equal  to  more  than  5000  miles.'  With  respect  to  the 
latitude  of  Scythia  or  Tartary,  it  reaches  from  the  40th  degree,  which 
touches  the  wall  of  China,  above  a  thousand  miles  to  tlie  northward,  to 
the  frozen  regions  of  Siberia.  The  kingdoms  of  Scandinavia,  it  may  be 
added,  were  in  the  number  of  the  provinces  of  Attila  ;  his  troops  pene- 
trated into  the  interior  of  Persia  ;  he  invaded,  and  for  some  time  occupied 
the  East  of  Europe,  for  the  space  of  500  miles,  from  the  Hadi'iatic  to  the 
Etixine,  and  from  the  Hellespont  to  the  suburbs  of  Constantinople  ;  the 
Burgundians  of  the  Rhine  v/ere  almost  exterminated  by  one  of  his  lieu- 
tenanls ;  fi'oni  the  Rhine  and  the  Moselle  he  advanced  into  the  heart  of 
Gaul  as  far  as  Orleans ;  and,  on  another  occasion,  he  passed  the  Alps, 
and  ravaged  a  considerable  part  of  Italy.  '  When  Attila  collected  his 
military  force,  he  was  able  to  bring  into  the  field  an  army  of  five,  or,  ac- 
cording to  another  account,  of  seven  hundred  thousand  Bai'barians.' 

Early  in  the  13th  centuiy,  Zingis  was  khan  of  the  Moguls.  Although 
he  originally  ruled  over  only  tliirty  or  forty  thousand  families,  he  succes- 
sively subdued  the  Tartar  hords,  '  who  pitched  their  tents  between  the 
wall  of  China  and  the  Volga ;  and  the  Mogul  emperor  became  the  mo- 
narch of  the  pastoral  world.'  His  troops  accomplished  the  circuit  of  the 
Caspian  sea,  he  reduced  the  countries  which  lie  between  that  sea  and  the 
Indus,  and  the  five  northern  provinces  of  China  were  added  to  his  empire. 
When  he  invaded  the  southern  Asia,  '  seven  hundi-ed  thousand  Moguls 
and  Tartars  are  said  to  have  marched'  under  his  standard  and  that  of  his 
four  sons.  In  a  subsequent  part  of  the  13th  century,  and  in  the  reigns  of 
his  successors,  the  Moguls  penetrated  into  Syria,  carried  their  arms  into 
{tulgaria  and  Thrace,  overflowed  with  resistless  violence  the  kingdoms  of 
Armenia  and  Anatolia,  and  conquered  the  populous  empires  of  Persia 
and  China. 

Of  the  celerity  of  their  motions,  and  the  extent  of  their  conquests,  some 
idea  may  be  formed  from  Mr.  Gibbon's  account  of  the  victorious  march  of 
the  troops  of  Batou.  No  sooner  had  Octal,  the  son  and  successor  of 
Zingis,  ♦  subverted  the  northern  empire  of  China,  than  he  resolved  to 
visit  with  his  arms  the  most  i-emote  countries  of  the  West.  Fifteen  hun- 
dred thousand  Moguls  and  Tartars  were  inscribed  on  the  military  roll ;  of 
these  the  great  khan  selected  a  third,  which  he  entrusted  to  the  command 
of  his  nephew  Batou.— After  a  festival  of  forty  days,  Batou  set  forwai-ds 
on  this  great  expedition ;  and  such  was  the  speed  and  ardor  of  his  innw. 


CHAP.  XXV.  117 

Arabs :  the  heat  of  the  climate,  and  the  general  character 
of  Arabia,  which  abounds  with  vast  plains.     It  is  in  the 

merable  squadrons,  that  in  less  than  six  years  they  had  measui'ed  a  line  of 
ninety  degrees  of  longitude,  a  fourth  part  of  the  circumference  of  the  globe. 
The  gi-eat  rivers  of  Asia  and  Europe,  the  Volga  and  Kama,  the  Don  and 
Borysthenes,  the  Vistula  and  Danube,  they  either  swam  with  their  horses, 
or  passed  on  the  ice,  or  traversed  in  leathern  boats.  — By  the  first  victories 
of  Batou,  the  remains  of  national  freedom  were  eradicated  in  tlie  immense 
plains  of  Turkestan  and  Kipzac.  In  his  rapid  progress,  he  over-ran  the 
kingdoms,  as  they  are  now  stiled,  of  Astrican  and  Cazan  ;  and  the  troops, 
which  he  detached  towards  mount  Caucasus,  explored  the  most  secret 
recesses  of  Georgia  and  Circassia.  The  civil  discord  of  the  great  dukes, 
or  princes,  of  Russia,  betrayed  their  country  to  tlie  Tartars.  They  spread 
from  Livonia  to  the  Black  Sea,  and  both  Moscow  and  Kiow,  the  modern 
and  tlie  ancient  capitals,  were  reduced  to  ashes — From  the  permanent 
conquest  of  Russia,  they  made  a  deadly,  though  transient,  inroad  into  the 
heart  of  Poland,  and  as  far  as  the  borders  of  Germany.  The  cities  of 
Lublin  and  Cracow  were  obhterated  :  they  approached  tlie  shores  of  the 
Baltic  ;  and  in  the  battle  of  Lignitz,  they  defeated  the  dukes  of  Silesia, 
the  Polish  palatines,  and  the  great  master  of  the  Teutonic  order.'  They 
then  '  turned  aside  to  the  invasion  of  Hungary ; — the  whole  country  north 
of  the  Danube  was  lost  in  a  day,  and  depopulated  in  a  summer  ; — and  of 
all  the  cities  and  foilresses  of  Hungary,  three  alone  sui'vived  the  Tartar 
invasion. — After  wasting  the  adjacent  kingdoms  of  Servia,  Bosnia,  and 
Bulgaria,  Batou  slowly  retreated  from  tlie  Danube  to  tlie  Volga  to  enjoy 
the  rewards  of  victory  in  the  city  and  palace  of  Serai.' 

'  Even  the  poor  and  frozen  regions  of  the  North  attracted  the  ai'ms  of 
the  Mogujs,'  and  a  detachment  of  them  settled  in  the  wilds  of  Siberia. 
*  In  this  shipwreck  of  nations,  some  surprise  maybe  excited  by  the  escape 
of  the  Roman  empire,  whose  relics,  at  the  time  of  the  Mogul  invasion, 
were  dismembered  by  the  Greeks  and  Latins.'  Indeed  *  had  the  Tai-tars 
undei'taken  the  siege,  Constantinople  oniist  have  yielded  to  the  fate  of 
Pekin,  Samarcand,  and  Bagdad.' 

The  conquests  of  Timour  or  Tamerlane  were  atchieved  towards  the 
conclusion  of  the  14th,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  15th,  century.  To  de- 
scribe *  the  lines  of  march,  which  he  repeatedly  traced  over  the  continent 
of  Asia,'  would  be  a  task  of  extreme  difficulty.  His  principal  conquests 
it  will  be  sufficient  briefly  to  state.  After  having  for  some  months  led  the 
life  of  a  vagrant  and  an  outlaw,  he  at  length,  at  the  age  of  34,  made  him- 
self master  of  his  native  country  of  Transoxiana,  a  fertile  kingdom,  500 
miles  in  length  and  breadth.  But  this  satisfied  not  his  ambition,  '  Timour 
aspired  to  the  dominion  of  the  world.'  The  Mogul  pi-ince  invaded  and 
conquered  Persia ;  and  *  the  whole  course  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates, 
from  the  mouth  to  the  sources  of  those  rivers,  was  reduced  to  his  obedi- 


118  '  CHAP.  XXV. 

cold  or  temperate  regions  of  the  North,  that  the  flame  of 
personal  liberty  is  accustomed  to  burn  with  the  brightest 
lustre.  The  heat  of  a  southern  sun  is  unfriendly  to  exertion, 
and  has  ever  been  found  to  facilitate  the  establishment  of 
despotism^*.  And  it  is  observed  by  Volney,  that  '  moun- 
tainous countries,  alone,  afford  to  liberty  its  great  resources. 
It  is  there,'  says  this  judicious  Frenchman,  *  that  skill  and 
address,  favored  by  situation,  supply  the  deficiency  of  num- 
bers.— In  flat  countries,  on  the  contrary,  the  first  tumult  is 


ence.'  Turkestan,  or  the  eastern  Tartary,  was  entered  and  subdued  by 
him  ;  and  '  his  most  distant  camp  was  two  months  journey,  or  480  leagues 
to  the  north-east  of  Samaixand,  and  his  emirs,  who  traversed  the  rivers 
Irtish,  engraved  in  tiie  forests  of  Siberia  a  rude  memorial  of  their  exploits.' 
KipzakjOrthe  western  Tartary,  he  also  invaded  'with  such  mighty  powers, 
that  13  miles  were  measured  from  his  right  to  his  left  wing.'  After  a 
march  of  five  months  in  which  'they  rarely  beheld  the  footsteps  of  man, 
and  their  daily  subsistence  was  often  trusted  to  the  fortune  of  the  chace,' 
liis  forces  encountered  and  defeated  those  of  the  powerful  Khan,  who 
ruled  over  the  Mogul  empire  of  the  North,  and  vvflio  had  recently  entered 
the  dominions  of  Timour  at  the  head  of  90,000  horse.  '  The  pursuit  of  a 
flying  enemy  carried  Timour  into  tributary  provinces  of  Russia,'  and 
'  Moscow  trembled  at  the  approach  of  the  Tartar.'  But  *  ambition  and 
prudence  recalled  him  to  the  south. '  After  crossing  the  Indus  and  the 
Ganges,  and  fighting  several  battles  with  the  princes  of  Hindostan,  he 
made  himself  master  of  that  rich  and  extensive  country.  Syria  and  Ar- 
menia were  afterwards  ravaged  by  him,  and  Anatolia  and  Georgia  were 
subjugated  by  the  arms  of  the  Mogul.  In  the  memorable  battle  of  Angola 
he  defeated  an  army  of  400,000  horse  and  foot,  commanded  by  the  Turk- 
ish emperor,  Bajazet.  •  Astracan,  Carisme,  Delhi,  Ispahan,  Bagdad, 
Aleppo,  Damascus,  Boui'sa,  Smyrna,  and  a  thousand  others,  were  sacked, 
or  biu-nt,  or  utterly  destroyed,  in  his  presence,  and  by  his  troops.— From 
the  Irtish  and  Volga  to  the  Persian  gulf,  and  from  the  Ganges  to  Damascus 
and  the  Archipelago,  Asia  was  in  the  hand  of  Timour ;  his  armies  were 
invincible,  his  ambition  was  boundless  ;'  and  it  was  on  his  march  towards 
China,  at  the  head  of  200,000  of  his  select  and  veteran  troops,  that  the 
Mogul  emperor  expired,  after  having  skilfully  planned  the  invasion  and 
conquest  of  that  great  empire.  Gibbon,  vol.  IV.  p.  358  ;  VI.  p.  4 — 53, 
108—122  ;  XI.  p.  408—429  ;  XII.  p.  4—45. 

38  •  The  cities  of  Mecca  and  Medina,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  'present,  in 
the  heart  of  Asia,  the  form,  or  rather  the  substance,  of  a  common- 
wealth.' Vol.  IX.  p.  234.  That  the  historian  regarded  this  fact  as  an 
unusual  phaenomenon  in  the  political  world,  the  manner  in  which  he  no^ 
tices  it  unequivocally  shews, 


€HAP.  XXV.  119 

suppressed,  and  the  ignorant  peasant,  who  does  not  even 
know  how  to  throw  up  an  entrenchment,  has  no  other  re- 
source but  in  the  clemency  of  his  master,  and  a  quiet  sub- 
mission to  slavery.  We  shall  therefore  find  that  no  general 
principal  can  be  advanced  more  true  than  the  following  : 
That  plains  are  the  habitation  of  indolence  and  of  slavery^ 
and  mountains  the  country  cf  energy  and  freedom?'^'* 

*  Asia,'  says  Colonel  Dow,  '  the  seat  of  the  greatest 
empires,  has  been  always  the  nurse  of  the  most  abject 
slaves.  The  mountains  of  Persia  have  not  been  able  to 
stop  the  progress  of  the  tide  of  despotism,  neither  has  it 
been  frozen  in  its  course  through  the  plains  of  the  Northern 
Tartary  by  the  chill  air  of  the  North.'  But  the  Arabs  of 
the  desert,  he  observes,  '  remain  unconquered  by  arms,  by 
luxury,  by  corruption  ;  they  alter  not  their  language,  they 
adhere  to  their  customs  and  manners,  they  retain  their 
dress"".' 

There  are  trees,  which,  being  unassisted  by  cultivation 
and  the  labors  of  man,  retain,  even  after  the  lapse  of  many 
ages,  their  primeval  shape  and  wildness,  ai\d  strongly  re- 
semble those  which  first  shed  their  blossoms  on  the  virgin- 
soil.  Thus  although  Ishmael  and  his  sons,  by  whom  a  prin- 
cipal part  of  the  land  of  Arabia  was  planted,  lived  in  a  period 
of  the  most  remote  antiquity,  and  in  the  very  infancy' of  so- 
ciety ;  yet  his  modern  descendants,  inhabiting  a  country, 
that  has  never  been  subdued,  or  completely  explored  by  the 
most  intrepid  conqueror,  vary  as  little  from  their  primitive 
manners,  as  the  trees  of  an  immense  forest,  which  has  never 
been  cleared  by  rustic  industry,  and  the  recesses  of  which 
have  never  been  penetrated  by  the  most  adventurous  tra- 
veller, differ  from  those  parent -trees,  which  first  occupied 
the  wilderness's  wide  expanse. 

On  the  characteristic  resemblance  of  the  Arabs  in  gene- 
ral to  their  earliest  ancestors,  I  might  refer  the  reader  to  a 

39  Travels,  vol.  I.  p.  200.  The  Arabs  are  specified  by  Volney  as  an 
exception  to  this  general  principle. 

40  Diss,  on  the  Origin  of  Despotism  in  Hindostan,  p.  II.  prefixed  to  the 
I  lid  voi.  of  the  History  of  Hindostan  by  Alexander  Dov,  Esq. 


iiiO  CHAP.   XXV, 

crowd  of  ancient  Writers  and  of  modern  travellers  ;  but  it 
will  be  sufficient  to  cite  the  testimonies  of  two  celebrated 
infidels,  who  are  competent,  and  certainly  impartial,  evi- 
dences on  a  fact  of  this  nature.  '  The  same  life,'  says  Mr. 
Gibbon,  '  is  uniformly  pursued  by  the  roving  tribes  of  the 
desert,  and  in  the  portrait  of  the  modern  Bedoweens,  we 
may  trace  the  features  of  their  ancestors  ;  who,  in  the  age 
of  Moses  or  Mahomet,  dwelt  under  similar  tents,  and  con- 
ducted their  horses,  and  camels,  and  sheep,  to  the  same 
springs  and  the  same  pastures'*\' 

'  The  vast  deserts,'  says  Volney,  '  which  extend  from  the 
confines  of  Persia  to  Morocco,'  are  inhabited  by  the  Bedo- 
weens. '  Though  divided  into  independent  communities, 
or  tribes,  not  unfrequently  hostile  to  each  other,  they  may 
still  be  considered  as  forming  one  nation.  The  resemblance 
of  their  language  is  a  manifest  token  of  this  relationship. 
The  only  difference  that  exists  between  them  is,  that  the 
African  tribes  are  of  a  less  ancient  origin,  being  posterior 
to  the  conquest  of  these  countries  by  the  Califs,  or  succes- 
sors of  Mahomet ;  while  the  tribes  of  the  desert  of  Ara- 
bia, properly  so  called,  have  descended  by  an  uninterrupted 
succession  from  the  remotest  ages;  and  it  is  of  these  I 
mean  more  especially  to  treat. — To  these  the  orientals  are 
accustomed  to  appropriate  the  name  of  Arabs,  as  being  the 
most  ancient  and  the  purest  race.  The  term  Bedaoui  is 
added  as  a  synonimous  expression,  signifjang,  as  I  have 
observed,  inhabitant  of  the  Desert  ;  and  this  term  has  the 
greater  propriety,  as  the  word  Arab,  in  the  ancient  language 
of  these  countries,  signifies  a  solitude  or  desert.'  The  Arabs 
of  the  desert,  '  we  may  assert,  have,  in  every  respect,  re- 
tained their  primitive  independence  and  simplicity.  Every 
thing-  that  ancient  history  has  related  of  their  customs,  man- 
ners, language,  and  even  their  prejudices,  is  almost  minutely 
true  of  them  to  this  day ;  and  if  we  consider,  besides,  that 
this  unity  of  character,  preserved  through  such  a  number 
of  ages,  still  subsists,  even  in  the  most  distant  situations, 

41  Vol.  IX.  p.  224. 


GHAP.  XXV.  I2i 

that  is,  that  the  tribes  most  remote  from  each  other  preserve 
an  exact  resemblance,  it  must  be  allowed,  that  the  circum* 
stances,  which  accompany  so  peculiar  a  moral  state,  are  a 
subject  of  most  curious  enquiry"*.' 

Of  the  descendants  of  the  Bedoweenis,  who  inhabit  Egypt, 
some,  says  Volney, '  dispersed  in  families,  inhabit  the  rocks, 
caverns,  ruins,  and  sequestered  places  where  there  is  water  ; 
others,  united  in  tribes,  encamp  under  low  and  smoky  tents, 
and  pass  their  lives  in  perpetual  journeyings,  sometimes  in 
the  desert,  sometimes  on  the  banks  of  the  river  ;  having  no 
other  attachment  to  the  soil  than  what  arises  from  their  own 
safety,  or  the  subsistence  of  their  flocks.  There  are  tribes 
of  them,  who  arrive  every  year  after  the  inundation,  from 
the  heart  of  Africa,  to  profit  by  the  fertility  of  the  country, 
and  who  in  the  spring  retire  into  the  depths  of  the  desert ; 
others  are  stationary  in  Egypt,  where  they  farmlands,  which 
they  sow,  and  annually  change.  All  of  them  observe  among 
themselves  stated  limits,  which  they  never  pass,  on  pain  of 
war.  They  all  lead  nearly  the  same  kind  of  life,  and  have 
the  same  manners  and  customs.  Ignorant  and  poor,  the 
Bedoweens  preserve  an  original  character  distinct  from  sur^ 
rounding  nations.  Pacific  in  their  camp,  they  are  every 
where  else  in  an  habitual  state  of  war.  The  husbandmen, 
whom  they  pillage,  hate  them ;  the  travellers,  whom  they 
despoil,  speak  ill  of  them  ;  and  the  Turks,  who  dread  them, 
endeavor  to  divide  and  corrupt  them.  It  is  calculated,  that 
the  different  tribes  of  them  in  Egjpt  might  form  a  body  of 
30,000  horsemen;  but  these  are  so  dispersed  and  disunited, 
that  they  are  only  considered  as  robbers  and  vagabonds*'.' 

42  Vol.  I.  p.  379,  380. 

43  Vol.  I.  p.  76.  Tlie  following  fact  I  borrow  from  another  celebrated 
French  infidel.  The  province  of  Anossi,  in  the  island  of  Madag-ascar,  is 
divided  into  a  considerable  nunxber  of  governments,  and  these  govern- 
ments are  all  subject  to  the  descendants  of  Arabs.  ♦  These  petty  sove" 
reigns  are  continually  at  war  with  each  other,  btit  never  fail  to  unite  against 
the  other  princes  of  Madagascar.'  The  Abbe  Raynal's  Hist  of  the  Set- 
tlements in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  vol.  II.  p.  11, 

Vol.  II.  Q 


122  CHAP.  XXV- 

The  striking  resemblance  of  the  Arabs  to  their  remote 
progenitors  has  a  strong  claim  to  attention,  as  well  because 
it  is  a  fact  unusual  in  the  nations  of  the  world,  as  on  account 
of  some  peculiar  circumstances,  which  have  occurred  in  the 
history  of  this  singular  people.  It  cannot  be  said  of  th6 
inhabitants  of  Arabia,  that  they  have  had  scarcely  any  inter- 
course with  mankind.  It  cannot  be  said,  that  they  have 
discovered  themselves  to  be  destitute  of  genius  and  inca- 
pable of  improvement  i  or,  that  they  have  had  no  opportu- 
nity of  introducing  into  their  country  a  new  system  of  arts,  of 
manners,  and  of  opinion.  It  has  been  far  otherwise.  The 
Arabs  or  Saracens  have  been  distinguished  for  their  attain- 
ments in  literature  and  their  exploits  in  war.  Animated 
by  courage  and  by  enthusiasm,  they  carried  their  victorious 
arms  into  most  of  the  civilised  nations  of  the  world,,  and 
erected  one  of  the  most  powerful  empires,  which  the  world 
has  ever  seen.  Yet,  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  *  the  liberty  of  the 
Saracens  survived  their  conquests.  The  first  caliphs  in- 
dulged the  bold  and  familiar  language  of  their  subjects  : 
they  ascended  the  pulpit  to  persuade  and  edify  the  congre- 
gation :  nor  was  it  before  the  seat  of  empire  was  removed 
to  the  Tigris^  that  the  Abbassides  adopted  the  proud  and 
pompous  ceremonial  of  the  Persian  and  Byzantine  courts**.*' 

The  same  determined  enemy  of  prophecy  and  of  Chris- 
tianity, after  alluding  to  the  prediction  which  I  have  en- 
deavored to  illustrate,  and  observing  that  some  parts  of 
Arabia  have  been  subdued,  a  fact  which  needs  not  and 
ought  not  to  be  disputed,  admits  that  '  these  exceptions 
are  temporary  or  local.'  '  The  body  of  the  nation,'  he  ac= 
knowleges,  '  has  escaped  the  yoke  of  the  most  powerful 
monarchies :  the  arms  of  Sesostris  and  Cyrus,  of  Pompey, 
and  Trajan,  could  never  atchieve  the  conquest  of  Arabia  ;, 
the  present  sovereign  of  the  Turks  may  exercise  a  shadow 
of  jurisdiction,  but  his  pride  is  reduced  to  solicit  the  friend- 


44  V'ol.  IX.  p.  236. 


CHAP.  XXV.  123 

ship  of  a  people,  whom  it  is  dangerous  to  provoke,  and 
fruitless  to  attack''^.'' 

That  Arabia,  a  country,  as  Mr.  Gibbon  observes,  en- 
compassed by  the  most  civilised  nations  of  the  ancient 
world**,'  should  never  have  adopted  foreign  manners,  nor 
have  been  subdued  by  a  foreign  power,  as  the  prophecy 
leads  us  to  expect,  is  surely  an  extraordinary  fact;  and 
which  no  human  foresight  could  predict.  But  although  we 
should  not  be  authorised  in  denying,  that  any  natural  causes 
exist,  which  have  operated  in  a  manner  highly  favorable  to 
the  independence  of  the  Arabs ;  it  may  at  the  same  time  be 
remarked,  that  if  the  Deity  foresaw,  that  their  indepen- 
dence would  upon  the  whole  promote  those  schemes  of  be- 
nevolence, and  those  measures  of  government,  which  are 
best  suited  to  this  lower  world,  and  this  state  of  imperfec- 
tion and  discipline,  and  if  he  thought  fit  to  predict  that  in- 
dependence ;  it  is  by  no  means  unreasonable  to  suppose, 
that,  in  order  to  prevent  the  subjugation  of  Arabia,  he 
would,  were  the  intervention  necessary,  arrest  the  arm  of 
conquest,  and  baffle  the  best  concerted  schemes  of  policy. 

The  prediction  relative  to  the  Arabs,  recorded  in  Gene- 
sis, plainly  intimates  the  preservation  of  national  indepen- 
dence. The  prophecy  on  the  fate  of  the  neighboring  coun- 
try of  Eg}'pt,  which  I  am  next  to  illustrate,  announces  a 
very  different  event.  Egypt ^  says  Ezekiel  in  ch.  xxix*% 
shall  be  a  base  kingdom.  It  shall  be  the  basest  of  the  king- 
doms :  neither  shall  it  exalt  itself  any  more  above  the  na- 
tions:  for  Ixvill  diminish  them^  that  they  shall  no  more  ride 
9ver  the  nations.  And  again  in  the  following  chapter,  I 
will  sell  the  land  into  the  hands  of  the  wicked:  and  I  xvill 
make  the  land  xvaste^  and  all  that  is  therein,  by  the  hand  of 
strangers ; — and  there  shall  be  no  more  a  prince  of  the  land 
of  Egypf^,  The  language  of  the  prediction  is  not  dark 
and  doubtful,  but  peremptory  and  explicit.     To  history, 

45  Gibbon,  vol.  IX.  p.  230.  46  Vol.  IX.  p.  239. 

47  V.  14,  15.  48  V.  12,  13. 


124  CHAP.    XXV* 

therefore,  and  not  to  verbal  criticism,  it  is  necessary  to  re- 
cur for  its  illustration. 

This  remarkable  prophecy,  according  to  Prideaux,  was 
pronounced  by  E^zekiel  in  the  year  587  B.  C"*.  It  was  in  a 
great  degree  fulfilled  in  the  year  571,  when  Egypt,  at  that 
time  torn  by  intestine  division  and  civil  war,  was  invaded 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon  ;  and  it  approached 
still  nearer  to  its  complete  accomplishment  in  the  year  525, 
when  the  Egyptians  were  subdued  by  the  arms  of  Camby- 
sus,  the  son  of  Cyrus.  But  there  is  reason  to  think,  that 
it  was  not  intended  to  receive  its  perfect  completion  ante- 
cedently to  the  year  350*°,  when  Egypt  was  completely  re- 
duced by  Ochus  into  a  province  of  the  Persian  empire. 

From  this  year  to  the  present  time,  2144  years  have 
elapsed  :  and  certainly  it  is  not  a  little  extraordinary,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  great  length  of  this  period,  and  the  nu- 
merous revolutions  which  in  the  course  of  it  have  been 
accomplished  in  Egypt,  not  a  single  prince  of  Egyptian 
origin  has  ever  been  raised,  even  for  a  short  interval,  to 
the  throne  of  the  country.  It  surely  was  not  to  have  been 
expected,  that,  amidst  a  crowd  of  political  changes,  and  the 
greatest  reverses  of  fortune,  the  natives  of  the  country 
should  never  once  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  succeed  in 
establishing  even  a  transient  independence.  Satisfactorily 
to  account  for  the  existence  of  this  prophecy,  and  its  cor- 
responding fulfilment,  on  the  supposition  that  it  is  a  sally  of 
enthusiasm,  or  an  invention  of  imposture,  is  not  a  task  of 
very  easy  accomplisment. 

At  the  promulgation  of  this  prophecy,  Egj-pt  had  been 
governed,  with  little  interruption,  by  its  native  princes  ; 
and  the  general  tenor  of  t\\e  Eg3-ptian  annals  evinced,  that, 

49  Connect,  of  the  Old  and  Ke%a  Test.  vol.  I.  fol.  p.  67.  According  to  the 
chronology  of  Blajr,  Ezekiel  commenced  his  prophetic  office  in  the  year 
593,  B.  C  :  according  to  Prideaux  in  the  yeai-  594. 

50  These  three  dates  are  taken  from  the  chronological  tables  of  Blair 
jind  archbishop  Usher,  who  are  in  agreement  with  Prideaux,  excepting 
that  he  places  the  invasion  of  Egypt  by  Nebuphgflnezzaf  two  years  par^ 


CHAP.  XXV.  12J 

in  point  of  fertility,  populousness,  and  power^\  it  deserved 
to  be  ranked  among  the  most  favored  as  well  as  indepen- 
dent nations.  Nature  also  had  separated  it  from  every  other 
country  ;  and  it  was  by  no  means  peculiarly  exposed  to  in- 
sult and  attack.  On  the  contrary,  its  geographical  bounda- 
ries, no  less  than  its  past  histor}',  seemed  to  promise  a  long 
continuance  of  national  prosperity.  Such  was  its  situation 
that  it  was  more  than  usually  sheltered  from  invasion,  and 
.seemed  naturally  designed  to  constitute  a  great  and' inde- 
pendent nation.  On  no  side  was  Eg^pt  touched  by  any 
powerful  empire.  Being,  indeed,  surrounded  by  the  Me- 
diterranean, the  Red  Sea,  and  the  deserts  of  Africa'%  un- 

51  '  As  Egypt,'  says  Mr.  Bryant,  *  was  one  of  the  most  ancient,  so  was 
it  one  of  the  most  extensive  kingdoms,  that  for  many  ages  subsisted  in 
the  world. — Eg^'pt  seems  to  have  been  respectable  from  the  beginning  ; 
and  the  most  early  accounts,  that  we  can  ai-rive  at,  bear  witness  of  its 
eminence  and  power.'  And  he  mentions  a  number  of  circumstances, 
wliich,  he  says,  *  must  raise  in  us  a  higli  idea  of  the  affluence  and  power 
which  this  knowing  people  were  possessed  of  Observations  upon  the  An- 
cient History  of  the  Egyptians,  4to.  1767,  p.  101. 

52  •  That  impervious  country'  is  the  expression  b)'  which  Mr.  Gibbon 
chai-acterises  Egypt  (vol.  VIII.  p.  222)  ;  and  speaking  of  the  difficulties 
which  the  forces  of  the  caliph  Omar  had  to  surmount  in  its  conquest,  he 
elsewhere  says,  '  the  cities  of  Egypt  were  many  and  populous  ;  their 
architecture  was  strong  and  solid ;'  and  the  Nile,  with  its  numerous 
branches,  was  alone  an  •  insuperable  barrier'  (vol.  IX.  p.  428.). 

After  writing  the  observations  in  the  text,  I  met  with  the  foUowIng  re- 
marks of  Bochart.  Egypt  was  anciently  called  the  iand  of  Mizraim ,-  and 
this  word  is  the  dual  of  onasor,  which  signifies  a  fortified  place.  '  Nor,' 
says  Bochart,  *  is  there  any  region  more  secure  fi-om  its  natural  situation.' 
♦*  From  the  fortified  nature  of  the  country  it  appears,"  saj  s  Diodorus, 
"  greatly  to  sm-pass  those  tracts  of  territory  which  are  mai-ked  out  for  so- 
vereignty." And  in  what  follows  he  proves  this  by  a  long  induction  of 
particulars.  Namely,  on  the  west,  it  has  an  inaccessible  desert ;  on  the 
.south,  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile  and  the  mountains  of  ^Ethiopia  ;  on  the 
east,  also  a  desert,  and  the  Serbonian  bog,  and  sinking  sands  ;  towards 
the  north,  a  sea  almost  destitute  of  any  port :  for  from  Joppa  in  Phaenicia 
even  unto  Parstonium  in  Lybia  there  is  no  port  excepting  Pharos.  After 
Diodorus  had  stated  these  circumstances  at  large,  he  thus  concludes  : 
*•  Egypt  then  is  on  all  sides  fenced  in  by  natural  fortifications."  Of  these 
things  lie  treats  in  the  1st  book.  And  in  the  xvth,  speaking  of  Nectane- 
,l)is,  king  of  Egypt,  at  the  time  the  Pei-sians  were  approaching,  he  says. 


126  CHAP.    XXV. 

like  other  countries,  it  had  scarcely  any  reason  to  guard 
against  the  approach  of  danger,  excepting  from  a  single 
point,  nanvely  from  the  isthmus  of  Suez,  which  joins  Africa 
to  Asia,  and  reaches  from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  most  East- 
em  mouth  of  the  Nile".  Egypt  also,  though  no  where  of 
any  great  breadth,  was  notwithstanding  a  country  of  very 
respectable  size.  Its  whole  extent  *  from  north  to  south 
was,'  says  Mr.  Bryant,  *  computed  to  be  about  600  miles^"*.' 
Knowlege,  it  has  been  observed,  is  power ;  and  there- 
fore the  disciplined  armies  of  civilised  and  enlightened  na- 
tions, though  comparatively  inconsiderable  in  point  of  num- 
ber, have  often  conquered  countries  of  great  extent,  when 
inhabited  by  a  people  involved  in  barbarism.  But  it  can 
never  be  urged,  that  Egypt  v/as  likely  to  be  subdued  on  ac- 
count of  its  marked  inferiority  to  other  countries  in  know- 
lege,  or  the  discoveries  of  science,  in  maxims  of  policy 
and  government,  or  the  practice  of  the  useful  arts.  Egypt, 
on  the  contrary,  was  greatly  celebrated  for  its  wisdom ;" 

"  but  he  most  of  all  confided  in  the  fortified  nature  of  tlve  country,  since 
Egypt  is  on  all  sides  difficult  of  access-"  Thus  also  Strabo,  in  his  xvith 
book.  *'  Even  from  the  beginning  Eg^pt  was  extremely  tranquil,  because 
it  had  every  thing  it  wanted  within  itself,  and  it  was  difficult  of  access  to 
foreigners."  And  this  he  afterwards  demonstrates  by  the  same  argu- 
ments by  which  Diodorus  had  pi'oved  it. '  Phaleg.  lib.  iv.  cap.  24.  Both 
Sti'abo  and  Diodorus  Siculus  had  travelled  into  Egypt.  Not  very  different 
5s  the  statement  of  a  modern  traveller,  though  comprised  in  fewer  words. 
'  Egypt,'  says  Vobiey,  '  is  protected  from  a  foreign  enemy,  on  the  land- 
side,  by  her  deserts,  and  ou  that  of  the  sea,  by  her  dangerous  coast.* 
Travels,  vol.  II.  p.  363. 

53  Pelusium,  which  stood  at  the  entrance  into  Egypt,  and  at  one  extre- 
mity of  the  isthmus  of  Suez,  was  situated,  says  Mr.  Bnant,  upon  the  ex- 
tremity of  Arabia  ;  *  from  whence  extended  a  vast  desert,  not  fit  for  the 
march  or  encampment  of  an  army,'  but  which  is  destitute  of  watei',  and 
greatly  infested  by  venomous  reptiles.  Strabo,  '  mentioning  the  same 
part  of  Arabia  from  the  Nile  to  the  Red  Sea,  represents  it  as  a  sandy 
waste,  that  could  scarcely  be  passed,  except  upon  camels. — This  desert, 
which  began  at  Pelusium  and  the  Nile,  reached  in  the  way  to  Palestine  as 
fer  as  Gaza,  which  was  situated  on  the  edge  of  it.'  Obs.  on  the  Anc 
Hist,  of  Egypt,  p.  76—80. 

54  Obs.  on  the  Anc.  Hist,  of  Eg}T)t,  p.  105. 

55  The  Egv"ptians,  says  Mi*.  Bryant,  *  were  esteemed  a  very  wise  and 
learned  people  ;  so  that  Moses  is  said  to  have  been  learned  in  all  the  luis- 


CHAP.  XXV.  ISr 

and  there  was  scarcely  any  part  of  it,  which  did  not  bear 
an  unequivocal  testimony  to  the  skilful  industry  of  its  in- 
habitants, and  which   did  not  contain  some  work,  distin- 

dotn  of  the  Egyptians'  Acts  vii.  22.  Obs.  on  the  Anc.  Hist,  of  Egypt,  p. 
101.  *  Egypt,'  says  Rollin,  ♦  was  ever  considered  by  all  the  ancients  as 
the  most  renowned  school  for  wisdom  and  politics,  and  the  source  from 
whence  most  arts  and  sciences  were  derived  This  king-dom  bestowed 
its  noblest  labors  and  finest  aits  on  the  improving  mankind  ;  and  Greece 
was  so  sensible  of  this,  that  its  most  illustrious  men,  as  Homer,  Pythago- 
ras, Plato,  even  its  great  legislators,  Lycurgus  and  Solon,  with  many 
more  whom  it  is  needless  to  mention,  travelled  into  Egypt  to  complete 
their  studies,  and  draw  from  that  fountain  whatever  was  most  rare  and 
valuable  in  every  kind  of  learning — The  Egyptians  were  the  first  people 
who  rightly  understood  the  rules  of  government.  A  nation  so  grave  and 
serious  immediately  perceived,  that  tlie  true  end  of  politics  is  to  make 
life  easy,  and  a  people  happy.  The  kingdom  was  hereditary;  but,  ac- 
cording to  Diodorus,  the  Egyptian  princes  conducted  themselves  in  a  dif- 
ferent manner  from  what  is  usually  seen  in  other  monarchies,  where  tlie 
prince  acknowleges  no  other  rule  of  his  actions,  but  his  arbitraiy  will 
and  pleasure.  But  here,  kings  were  under  greater  restraint  from  the  laws 
than  their  subjects.'  They  '  freely  permitted,  not  only  the  quality  and 
proportion  of  their  eatables  and  liquids  to  be  prescribed  them  (a  thing 
customary  in  Egypt,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  all  sober,  and  whose 
air  inspired  frugality),  but  even  that  all  their  houi-s,  and  almost  every  ac- 
tion, should  be  under  the  regulation  of  tlie  laws. — Thirty  judges  were  se- 
lected oul  o!"  the  principal  cities  to  form  a  body  or  assembly  for  judging  the 
whole  kingdom.  The  prince,  in  filling  these  vacancies,  chose  such  as 
were  most  renowned  for  their  honesty  ;  and  put  at  their  head  him  who 
was  most  distinguished  for  his  knowlege  and  love  of  the  laws. — Honor- 
ablj'  subsisted  by  the  generosity  of  the  prince,  they  administered  justice 
gratuitously  to  the  people.*  But  •  the  most  excellent  circumstance  in  the 
laws  of  the  Egvptians  was,  that  every  individual,  from  his  infancy,  was 
nurtured  in  tlie  strictest  observance  of  them. — The  virtue  in  the  highest 
esteem  among  the  Egyptians  was  gratitude.  The  glory,  which  has  been 
given  them  of  being  the  most  grateful  of  all  men,  shews,  that  they  were 
the  best  formed  of  any  nation  for  social  life.'  Anc.  Hist.  vol.  I.  12mo.  p. 
22 — 27.  This  account  of  Rollin,  it  must  be  aeknowlcged,  is  too  favorably 
drawn.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  admitted,  that  much  which  is  re- 
corded to  their  praise  is  here  omitted;  and  that  enough  will  remain^  after 
a  fair  subtraction  of  what  is  exaggerated,  to  entitle  the  Egyptians  to  be 
honorably  distinguished  above  almost  every  other  nation  of  early  antiquity. 
In  proof  of  this,  let  the  whole  of  tlic  second  book  of  Herodotus  be  pe- 
rused.- 


128  CHAP.    XXV. 

guished  by  its  utility,  or  the  difficulty  of  its  accomplish- 
ment. 

But  though  Egypt  could  not  be  invaded  but  with  diffi- 
culty, and  with  hazard ;  it  will  perhaps  be  urged,  that  its 
climate  is  unwholesome  and  extremely  enervating ;  that  its 
natives  are  naturally  pusillanimous^"^  and  necessarily  effe- 
minate ;  and  therefore  that  it  is  little  wonderful,  that  a 
people  of  such  a  character,  and  such  a  climate,  should  have 
successively  fallen  a  prey  to  every  invader.  But  ideas  of 
this  kind,  however  prevalent  they  may  have  been,  have  not 
truth  for  their  foundation. 

The  climate  of  Egypt  is  doubtless  not  without  its  incon- 
veniences. But  it  by  no  means  deserves  to  be  called  un- 
healthy. '  The  Egyptians,'  says  Herodotus,  '  after  the 
Lybians  are  the  most  healthy  of  all  men".'  That  *  Egypt 
is  an  earthly  paradise,'  is  the  statement  of  Thevenot'",  who 
visited  that  country  in  the  year  1657 ;  and  another  French- 
man, the  consul  Maillet,  who  resided  20  years  at  Cairo, 
speaks  of  its  climate  in  the  most  extravagant  terms  of  com- 
mendation. *■  It  is  of  this  country,  which  seems  to  have 
been  regarded  by  nature  with  a  favorable  eye,  that  the  Gods 
have  made  a  sort  of  terrestrial  paradise.  The  air  there  is 
more  pure  and  excellent  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
This  goodness  of  the  air  communicates  itself  to  all  things, 
living  or  inanimate,  which  are  placed  in  this  fortunate  re- 
gion. As  the  men  commonly  enjoy  there  perfect  health, 
the  trees  and  plants  never  lose  their  verdure'^.'  To  the 
*  fertility  and  richness  of  the  productions  of  Egypt  must,' 
says  the  Baron  de  Tott,  '  be  added  a  most  salubrious  air. 
We  shall  be  more  particularly  struck  with  th,is  advantage, 
when  we  consider  that  Rosetta,  Damietta,  and  Mansoora, 
which  are  encompassed  with  rice-grounds,  are  much  cele- 

56  That  the  Egyptians  are  '  naturally  a  cowai-dly  people'  is  one  of  the 
statements  of  bp.  Newton,  vol.  II.  p.  367. 

57  Lib.  ii.  cap.  77. 

58  LivTe  Second  de  la  Premiere  Partie  du  Voyage  de  M.  de  Thevenot 
an  Levant,  Pai-is,  1689.     P.  790. 

59  Description  of  Egypt,  Let.  I.  p.  14. 


GHAP.    XXV. 


129 


brated  for  the  healthiness  of  their  neighborhood  ;  and  that 
Egypt  is,  perhaps,  the  only  country  in  the  world  where 
this  kind  of  culture,  which  requires  stagnant  waters,  is  not 
unwholesome. — The  researches  I  have  carefully  made  con- 
cerning the  plague,  which  I  once  believed  to  originate  in 
Egypt,  have  convinced  me,  that  it  would  not  be  so  much 
as  known  there,  were  not  the  seeds  of  it  conveyed  thither 
by  the  commercial  intercourse  between  Constantinople  and 
Alexandria.  It  is  in  this  last  city  that  it  always  begins  to 
appear :  it  but  rarely  reaches  Cairo,  though  no  precaution 
is  taken  to  prevent  it ;  and  when  it  does,  it  is  presently  ex- 
tirpated by  the  heats,  and  prevented  from  arriving  as  far  as 
the  Saide,  It  is  likewise  well  known,  that  the  penetrating 
dews,  which  fall  in  Egypt  about  midsummer,  destroy,  even 
in  Alexandria,  all  remains  of  this  distemper*^".'  Of  the 
general  healthiness  of  the  climate  Savary  also  speaks  in  high 
terms. 

*  The  climate'  of  Egj^t,  says  Volney,  '  is  by  no  means 
unhealthy.     The  Mamalukes  are  a  proof  of  this,  who,  from 
wholesome  diet,  and  a  proper  regimen,  enjoy  the  most  ro- 
bust state  of  health. — We  deceive  ourselves  when  we  re- 
present' the  Egyptians  '  as  enervated  by  heat,  or  effeminate 
from  debauchery.     The  inhabitants  of  the  cities,  and  mea 
of  opulence,  may  indeed  be  a  prey  to  that  effeminacy  which 
is  common  to  them  in  every  climate  ;  but  the  poor  despised 
peasants,  denominated  fellahs^  support  astonishing  fatigues. 
I  have  seen  them  pass  whole  days  in  drawing  water  from 
the   Nile,  exposed  naked  to   a  sun  which  would  kill  us. 
Those  who  are  valets  to  the  Mamelukes  continually  follow 
their  masters.     In  town,  or  in  the  country,  and  amid  all  the 
dangers  of  war,  they  accompany  them  every  where,  and 
always  on  foot ;  they  will  run  before  or  after  their  horses 
for  days  together,  and  when  they  are  fatigued,  tie  them- 
selves to  their  tails  rather  than  be  left  behind.     The  cha- 
racter of  their  minds  is  every  way  correspondent  to  the 
hardiness  of  their  bodies.     The  implacability  displayed  by 

60  Memoirs  of  the  Baron  de  Tott,  part  iv.  p.  6?. 
Vol.  II.  R 


130  CHAP.  XXV. 

these  peasants  in  their  hatreds,  and  their  revenges ;  their 
obstinacy  in  the  battles  which  frequently  happen  between 
different  villages  ;  their  sense  of  honor  in  suffering  the  bas- 
tinado, without  discovering  a  secret :  and  even  the  barba- 
rity with  which  they  punish  the  slightest  deviation  from 
chastity  in  their  wives  and  daughters,  all  prove  that  their 
minds,  when  swayed  by  certain  prejudices,  are  capable  of 
great  energy,  and  that  that  energy  only  wants  a  proper  di- 
rection, to  become  a  formidable  courage.  The  cruelties 
and  seditions  which  have  sometimes  been  the  consequence  of 
their  exhausted  patience,  especially  in  the  province  of  Shar- 
kia,  indicate  a  latent  fire,  which  waits  only  for  proper  agents 
to  put  it  in  motion,  and  produce  great  and  unexpected  ef- 
fects*'.' 

Bp.  Newton,  after  giving  a  concise  account  of  the  Eg)p- 
tian  history,  says,  '  by  this  deduction  it  appears,  that  the 
truth  of  Ezekiel's  prediction  is  fully  attested  by  the  whole 
series  of  the  history  of  Egypt  from  that  time  to  the  present. 
And  who  could  pretend  to  say  upon  human  conjecture,  that 
so  great  a  kingdom,  so  rich  and  fertile  a  country,  should 
ever  afterwards  become  tributary  and  subject  to  strangers  ? 
It  is  now  a  great  deal  above  two  thousand  years,  since  this 
prophecy  was  first  delivered  ;  and  what  likelihood  or  ap- 
pearance was  there,  that  the  Egyptians  should  for  so  many 
ages  bow  under  a  foreign  yoke,  and  never  in  all  that  time 
be  able  to  recover  their  liberties,  and  have  a  prince  of  their 
own  to  reign  over  them  ?  But  as  is  the  prophecy,  so  is  the 
event.  For  not  long  afterwards  Egypt  was  conquered  by 
the  Babylonians,  and  after  the  Babylonians  by  the  Persians  ;. 
and  after  the  Persians  it  became  subject  to  the  Macedonians, 
and  after  the  Macedonians  to  the  Romans,  and  after  the 
Romans  to  the  Saracens,  and  then  to  the  Mamalukes  ;  and 
it  is  now  a  province  of  the  Turkish  empire.' 

With  respect  to  the  degraded  state  of  Egypt,  the  lan- 
guage of  an  intelligent  infidel  is  perfectly  similar.  Egypt, 
says  Volney,  *  deprived  three-and-twenty  centuries  ago  of 

61  Vol.  I.  p.  202,  246. 


CHAP.  XXV.  131 

her  natural  proprietors,  has  seen  her  fertile  fields  succes- 
sively a  prey  to  the  Persians,  the  Macedonians,  the  Ro- 
mans, the  Greeks,  the  Arabs,  the  Georgians,  and,  at  length, 
the  race  of  Tartars,  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Ottoman 
Turks^\' 

Ezekiel  says  of  the  Egyptians,  in  the  name  of  the  Su- 
preme Being,  /  will  diminish  them^  that  they  shall  no 
more  rule  over  the  nations  ;  and  accordingly  they  are  ex- 
tremely diminished  in  point  of  number.  Herodotus,  who 
travelled  into  Egypt  about  a  hundred  years  after  the  death 
of  Amasis,  relates,  that,  in  the  reign  of  that  prince,  there 
were  20,000  cities  in  Egypt^'.  Though  this  account  is 
greatly  exaggerated,  yet  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that  ancient 
Egypt  was  extremely  populous.  When  a  province  of  the 
Roman  empire,  '  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt,  exclusive  of 
Alexandria,  amounted,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon*^"^,  '  to  seven  mil- 
lions and  a  half  (Joseph,  de  Bell.  Jud.  II.  16.).'  On  the 
present  population  of  Egypt  I  cite  the  calculation  of  Vol- 
ney.  '  A  s  it  is  known,  that  the  number  of  towns  and  vil- 
lages does  not  exceed  2300,  and  the  number  of  inhabitants 
in  each  of  them,  one  with  another,  including  Cairo  itself,  is 
not  more  than  a  thousand,  the  total  cannot  be  more  than 
2,300,000^^' 

The  prophet  moreover  says,  /  xvill  sell  the  land  into 
the  hand  of  the  xvicked ;  and  I  -will  make  the  land  xuaste^ 
and  all  that  is  therei?!^  by  the  hand  of  strangers ;  and 
Egypt  shall  he  the  basest  of  the  kingdoms.  Numerous  as  are 
the  centuries  which  have  elapsed  since  the  publication  of 
this  prophecy,  yet  to  describe  the  condition  of  Egypt  at 
this  very  time,  with  equal  brevity  and  superior  accuracy, 

62  Vol.  I.  p.  74. 

63  Lib.  ii.  cap.  177.  Perhaps  the  word  TvaMti  which  in  this  passage  is 
generally  translated  cities,  had  better  be  rendered  toivns. 

64  Vol.  I.  p.  81.  Alexandria,  according-  to  Diodorus  Siculus,  contained 
300,0007;-ee  inliabitants.  Lib.  xvii.  Its  slaves,  Mr.  Hume  is  inclined  to 
tliink,  mig-ht  be  estimated  at  an  equal  number.  Ess.  on  the  Popul  of 
Anc.  Nat. 

65  Travels,  vol.  I.  p.  238, 


132  CHAP.    XXV. 

would  scarcely  be  possible.  Egypt,  for  centuries,  has  been 
governed  not  only  by  strangers^  but  by  slaves  ;  for  it  is  now 
nearly  550  years  since  this  country,  to  use  an  expression 
of  Mr.  Gibbon,  first  groaned  under  '  the  iron  sceptre  of  the 
Mamalukes,'  and,  during  the  whole  of  this  period,  the 
Mamalukes  have  continued  to  oppress  its  unfortunate  inha- 
bitants. 

In  order  to  shew,  that  Egypt  is  emphatically  the  basest  of 
kingdoms^  and  to  explain  the  singular  fact  of  a  fine  country 
having  so  long  been  subject  to  the  government  of  slaves,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  introduce  a  short  account  of  the  Ma- 
malukes. It  is  taken  from  Volney.  Twelve  thousand  of 
them,  being  young  slaves  from  Circassia  and  the  adjoining- 
parts  of  Asia,  were  first  introduced  by  the  Sultan  of  Egypt 
into  that  country  about  the  year  1230.  Early  trained  to 
military  exercises,  they  shortly  became  a  body  of  the  bravest, 
the  most  handsome,  and  at  the  same  time  the  most  muti- 
nous troops  of  Asia  ;  and  in  the  year  1250,  rising  in  re- 
bellion, they  put  to  death  the  reigning  Sultan,  and  in  his 
place  substituted  one  of  their  own  chiefs.  They  continued 
sole  masters  of  the  country  and  government  which  they  had 
usurped  till  the  year  1517^,  when  the  Turkish  emperor 
Selim  defeated  them,  and  annexed  this  new  conquest  to  the 
Ottoman  empire.  But  although  he  limited,  he  did  not  de- 
stroy, the  power  of  the  Mamalukes.  From  this  foreign 
soldiery  the  twenty-four  governors,  or  beys,  of  provinces, 
were  .regularly  chosen ;  and  '  to  them,'  says  Volney,  '  was 
entrusted  the  care  of  restraining  the  Arabs,  superintending 
the  collection  of  the  tributes,  and  the  whole  civil  govern- 
ment of  the  country.'  The  orders  of  the  Turkish  divan, 
which  was  established  in  Egypt,  they  were,  however,  impli- 
citly to  obey.  '  But,  for  the  last  50  years,  the  Porte,  having 
relaxed  irom  its  vigilance,  innovations  have  taken  place : 

66  Of  the  oppressions  and  prodigality  of  the  Mamalukes,  antecedently 
to  the  year  151",  some  idea  may  be  formed  from  some  facts  related  in  the 
Travels  of  M.  Baumgarten,  a  German  nobleman,  who  visited  Egypt  in  the 
year  1507.  See  Churchill's  Coll.  of  Voyages,  1752,  vol.  I.  p.  328— 332» 
339,  345 


CHAP.    XXV.  133 

the  Mamalukes  have  increased,  become  masters  of  all  the 
riches  and  strength  of  the  country,  and  in  short,  gained 
such  an  ascendancy  over  the  Ottomans,  that  the  power  of 
the  latter  is  reduced  almost  to  nothing.  On  seeing  them 
subsisting  in  this  country  for  several  centuries,  we  should 
be  led  to  imagine  their  race  is  preserved  by  the  ordinary 
means  ;  but  if  their  first  establishment  was  a  singular  event, 
their  continuance  is  not  less  extraordinary.  During  550 
years  that  there  have  been  Mamalukes  in  Egypt,  not  one  of 
them  has  left  subsisting  issue  ;  there  does  not  exist  one  sin- 
gle family  of  them  in  the  second  generation ;  all  their  chil- 
dren pei-ish  in  the  first  or  second  descent.  Almost  the 
same  thing  happens  to  the  Turks  ;  and  it  is  observed,  that 
they  can  only  secure  the  continuance  of  their  families,  by 
marrying  women  who  are  natives,  which  the  Mamalukes 
have  always  disdained^\  The  means,  therefore,  by  which 
they  are  perpetuated  and  multiplied,  are  the  same  by  which 
they  were  first  established  ;  that  is  to  say,  when  they  die, 
they  are  replaced  by  slaves  brought  from  their  original 
country.  From  the  time  of  the  Moguls,  this  commerce 
has  been  continued  on  the  confines  of  the  Cuban  and  the 
Phasis,  in  the  same  manner  as  it  is  carried  on  in  Africa,  by 
the  wars  among  the  numerous  tribes,  and  by  the  misery  of 
the  inhabitants,  who  sell  their  own  children  for  a  subsist- 
ence. The  young  peasant,  sold  in  Mingrelia  or  Georgia, 
no  sooner  arrives  in  Egypt,  than  his  ideas  undergo  a  total 
alteration.  Though  now  a  slave,  he  seems  destined  to  be- 
come a  master,  and  already  assumes  the  spirit  of  his  future 
condition. — As  in  such  states  money  is  the  only  motive, 
the  chief  attention  of  the  master  is  to  satisfy  the  avidity  of 
his  servants,  in  order  to  secure  tht- ir  attachment.  Hence, 
that  prodigality  of  the  Beys,  so  ruinous  to  Egypt,  which 
they  pillage  ;  that  want  of  subordination  in  the  Mamalukes, 
so  fatal  to  the  chiefs  whom  they  despoil.'     And,  '  no  sooner 


67  f  The  wives  of  the  Mamalukes'  says  Volney,  •  are,  like  them,  slaves 
brought  from  Georg^ia,  Mingrelia,'  &c. 


134  CHAP.  XXV. 

is  a  slave  enfranchised,  than  he  aspires  to  the  principal  em- 
ployments^*.' 

Profligate  and  unprincipled  as  were  many  of  the  Ptole- 
mieS  and  the  Caesars,  their  rule  was  wise  and  beneficent  in 
comparison  of  that  of  the  Mamalukes.  The  land  of  Egypt, 
and  all  that  is  therein^  it  is  foretold,  xuill  be  7nade  xvaste  by 
the  hand  of  strangers.  That  this  prediction  is  at  present 
fulfilling  with  the  utmost  exactness,  the  following  facts,  as 
related  bv  Volnev,  one  of  the  most,  recent  as  well  as  most 
judicious  travellers  into  that  country,  will  be  sufficient  to 
evince. 

The  houses,  the  canals,  the  ports,  and  a  large  part  of  the 
cultivated  lands,  have  been  suffered  to  fall  into  ruin  or 
decaA'.  A  few  particulars  will  illustrate  this  assertion.  In 
the  neighborhood  of  modern  Alexandria,  '  the  earth  is  co- 
vered with  the  remains  of  lofty  buildings  destroyed  ;  whole 
fronts  crumbled  down,  roofs  fallen  in,  battlements  decayed, 
and  the  stones  corroded  and  disfigured  by  saltpetre.  The 
traveller  passes  over  a  vast  plain  surrounded  with  trenches, 
pierced  with  wells,  divided  by  walls  in  ruins,  covered  over 
with  ancient  columns  and  modern  tombs,  amid  palm-trees 
and  nopals,  and  where  no  living  creature  is  to  be  met  with, 
but  owls,  bats  and  jackalls.'  The  environs  of  Grand  Cairo 
*are  full  of  hills  of  dust,  formed  by  the  rubbish,  which  is 
accumulating  every  day.'  The  whole  of  the  desert  to  the 
south  of  Rosetta,  '  formerly  intersected  with  large  canals, 
and  filled  with  towns,  presents  nothing  but  hillocks  of  a 
yellowish  sand,  very  fine,  which  the  wind  heaps  up  at  the 
foot  of  every  obstacle,  and  which  frequentlv  buries  the 
palm-trees.'  What  is  called  the  New  Port  at  Alexandria^ 
'■  the  only  harbor  for  the  Europeans,  is  clogged  up  with 
sand,'  in  consequence  of  which  ships  are  frequently  lost. 
'  It  will  perhaps  be  asked,  in  Europe,  why  do  they  not  re- 
pair the  New  Port  ?  The  answer  is,  that  in  Turkey,  they 
destroy  every  thing  and  repair  nothing.'     The  Old  Port, 


68  Volney,  vol.  I.  p.  101—113,  181.     See  also  Gibbon,  vol.  XI.  p.  164. 


GHAP.    XXV.  135 

into  which  none  but  the  ships  of  Mahometans  are  ad- 
mitted, will  be  destroyed  also,  '  as  the  ballast  of  vessels 
has  been  continually  thrown  into  it  for  the  last  two  hundred 
years.  The  spirit  of  the  Turkish  government  is  to  ruin 
the  labors  of  past  ages,  and  destroy  the  hopes  of  future 
times,  because  the  barbarity  of  ignorant  despotism  never 
considers  to-mori'ow*'.' 

'  Every  year,'  says  Savary,  *  the  limits  of  cultivated 
Egypt  are  encroached  upon,  and  barren  sands  accumulate 
from  all  parts.  In  1517,  the  sera  of  the  Turkish  conquest, 
lake  Mareotis  was  at  no  distance  from  the  walls  of  Alex- 
andria, and  the  canal  which  conveyed  the  waters  into  that 
city  was  still  navigable.  At  this  day  the  lake  has  disap- 
peared ;  and  the  lands  it  watered,  and  which,  according  to 
historians,  produced  abundance  of  corn,  wine,  and  various 
fruits,  are  changed  into  deserts,  where  the  sorrowful  travel- 
ler finds  neither  shrub,  nor  plant,  nor  verdure.  The  canal 
itself,  the  work  of  Alexander,  necessary  even  to  the  sub- 
sistence of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  he  built,  is  nearly 
choaked  up.  It  only  receives  the  waters,  when  the  inun- 
dation is  at  its  highest  point,  and  preserves  them  but  for  a 
short  space  of  time The  Pelusiac  branch,  which  dis- 
charged itself  into  the  eastern  part  of  the  lake  of  Tanis  or 
Menzale,  is  totally  destroyed.  With  it  perished  the  beau- 
ful  province  it  fertilised^".' 

But  in  order  to  convey  a  tolerably  adequate  idea  of  the 
complete  debasement  of  Egypt,  and  the  extreme  wretched- 
ness of  its  inhabitants,  it  will  be  necessary  that  some  other 
particulars  should  be  specified.  '  The  greater  part  of  the 
lands  are,' 'says  Volney,  'in  the  hands  of  the  Beys,  the 
Mamalukes,  and  the  professors  of  the  law  ;  the  number  of 
the  other  proprietors  is  extremely  small,  and  their  property 
liable  to  a  thousand  impositions.  The  peasants  are  hired 
laborers,  to  whom  no  more  is  left  than  barely  suffices  to 
sustain  life.     The  rice  and  corn  they  gather  are  carried  to 

69  Volney,  vol.  I.  p.  5,  7,  31,  234. 

70  Savary's  Letters  on  Eg-j-pt,  vol.  II.  p.  230. 


136  CHAP.    xxv# 

the  table  of  their  masters,  and  nothing  is  reserved  for  thenr 
but  doiirra  or  Indian  Millet,  of  which  they  make  a  bread 
without  leaven.'      This  bread,   '  is,  with  water  and  raw 
onions,   their  only  food  throughout  the  yearj    and  they 
esteem  themselves  happy,  if  they  can  sometimes  procure  a 
little  honey,   cheese,  sour  milk   and  dates, — Their  habita- 
tions are  mud-walled  huts,  in  which  they   are   suffocated 
with  heat  and  smoke,  and  frequently  attacked  by  maladies 
arising   from   uncleanliness,   humidity,   and  unwholesome 
food  ;  and,   to   fill  the  measure   of  their  wretchedness,  to 
these  physical  evils  are  added  continual  alarms,  the  dread 
of  the  robberies  of  the   Arabs,  and  the  extortions  of  the 
Mamalukes,  family  feuds,  and  all  the  anxieties  of  a  perpe- 
tual civil  war.    This  is  a  just  picture  of  all  the  villages,  and 
equally  resembles  the  towns.  At  Cairo  itself,  the  stranger, 
on  his  arrival,   is   struck  with  the  universal  appearance  of 
wretchedness  and  misery.     The  crowds,  which  throng  the 
streets,  present  to  his  sight  nothing  but   hideous  rags  and 
disgusting  nudities.     It  is  true,  he  often  meets  with  horse- 
men richly  clad ;  but  this  display  of  luxury  only  renders 
the  contrast  of  indigence  the  more  shocking.     Every  thing 
he  sees  or  hears  reminds  him  he  is  in  the  country  of  slavery 
and  tyranny. — There  is  no  security  for  life   or  property. 
The  blood  of  men  is  shed  like  that  of  the  vilest  animals. — 
The  officer  of  the  night  in  his  rounds,  and  the  officer  of  the 
clay  in  his  circuit,  judge,  condemn,   and  execute^'  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  without  appeal.     Executioners  attend 
them,  and,  on  the  first  signal,  the  head  of  the  unhappy  vic- 
tim falls  into  the  leathern  bag,  in  which  it  is  received  for 
fear  of  soiling  the  place.'     In  the  year  1784,  Egypt  was 
afflicted  by   famine ;  and    '  the   streets   and  public  places 
swarmed  with  meagre   and  dying  skeletons,  whose  faulter- 
ing  voices  implored,  in  vain,  the  pity  of  passengers. — These 


71  Sir  Henry  Blount,  who  travelled  into  Egypt  and  the  Levant  in  the 
year  1634  and  1635,  observes,  that  in  Egypt  executions  are  more  frequent, 
and  attended  with  more  circumstances  of  barbarity,  than  in  an)'  other  part 
of  Turkey.     Earl  of  0:^ord's  Coll.  of  Voj/ages,  1745,  fol.  vol.  I.  p.  529. 


CHAP.  XXV.  137 

wretches  expired,  leaning  against  the  houses  of  the  Beys, 
which  they  knew  were  stored  with  rice  and  corn,  and,  not 
nnfrequently,  the  Mamakikes,  importuned  by  their  cries, 
chased  them  away  with  blows.  Every  disgusting  ineans 
of  appeasing  the  rage  of  hunger  was  tried,  every  thing  the 
most  fikhy  devoured  ;  nor,  shall  I  ever  forget,  that,  when  I 
was  returning  from  Syria  to  France,  in  March,  1785,  I  saw 
under  the  wails  of  ancient  Alexandria,  two  wretches  sitting 
on  the  dead  carcase  of  a  camel,  and  disputing  its  putrid 
fragments  with  the  dogs^^.' 

Nor  are  there  any  circumstances,  which  promise  the  de- 
generate and  degraded  natives  of  Egypt,  that  the  yoke 
which  presses  so  heavily  upon  them  shall  be  shaken  off: 
from  no  quarter  arises  a  probability  of  independence,  which 
might  dissipate  that  thick  gloom  which  at  present  envelopes 
all  their  prospects,  wliich  naight  enlarge  the  scanty  horizon 
of  their  hopes,  or  even  shed  upon  their  sorrows  a  feeble 
and  fluctuating  ray  of  consolation.  In  Egypt  it  is  not  in 
any  particular  family,  but  in  a  large  body  of  men,  that  power 
is  hereditary.  Accordingly  the  military  tyranny  of  the 
Mamalukes  does  not  betray  those  symptoms  of  degeneracy 
and  growing  feebleness,  which  the  Asiatic  governments 
almost  imiformly  present.  By  their  valor  and  personal 
expertness  the  Mamalukes  are  still  distinguished.  To  de- 
stroy or  to  reform  them,  '  a  general  league  of  the  peasantry 
is,'  says  Volney,  '  necessary;  and  this  it  is  impossible  to 
form.  The  system  of  oppression  is  methodical.— .Each 
province,  each  district,  has  its  governor,  and  each  village  its 
Lieutenant,  who  watches  the  motions  of  the  multitude. — - 
This  lieutenant  transfers  a  portion  of  his  authority  to  some 
individuals  of  the  society  he  oppresses,  and  these  become 
his  supporters  :  jealous  of  each  other,  they  strive  who  shall 
best  merit  his  favor,  and  he  employs  them  alternately  to 
effect  their  mutual  destruction.  The  same  jealousies  and 
inveterate  hatreds  pervade  also  and  disunite  the  villages. 

72  Volney,  vol.  I.  p.  188— 194. 
Vol.   II.  "  s 


138  CHAP.  XXV. 

But  even  supposing  an  union  which  is  so  difficult  to  take 
place,  what  could  a  crowd  of  barefooted  and  almost  naked 
peasants,  with  only  sticks,  or  even  with  muskets,  effect 
against  a  body  of  disciplined  and  well-armed  cavalry.  I 
am,  above  all,  led  to  believe  Egypt  can  never  shake  off  this 
yoke,  when  I  consider  the  nature  of  the  country,  which  is 
but  too  advantageous  for  cavalry.  If  the  best  regulated 
infantry  among  us  dread  to  encounter  the  horse  in  a  plain, 
how  formidable  must  they  be  to  a  people,  who  are  wholly 
ignorant  of  the  very  first  elements  of  tactics,  and  who  can 
never  possibly  acquire  a  knowlege,  which  can  only  be  the 
result  of  an  experience  their  situation  denies  them^^.' 

But  let  it  not  be  supposed,  that  I  conjecture  it  to  be  a 
part  of  the  plans  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness,  that 
Egypt  should  for  ever  remain  the  theatre  of  oppression, 
wretchedness,  and  guilt.  The  deductions  of  reason,  and 
the  study  of  prophecy,  lead  to  a  very  different  conclusion  : 
and  the  predictions,  relative  to  Egypt  and  Ai-abia,  the  ful- 
filment of  which  I  have  endeavored  to  illustrate,  ought  to 
be  explained  in  consistency  Avith  those  other  prophecies, 
■Ovhich  foretell  the  future  improved  state  of  mankind,  and 
they  are,  I  conceive,  applicable  only  to  the  existing  state  of 
the  world ;  and  are  by  no  means  intended  to  be  fulfilled 
after  the  commencement  of  that  happy  pera,  denominated 
the  millennium. 

The  following  observations  constitute  a  principal  part  of 
the  conclusion  of  bp.  Newton's  dissertation  on  the  prophe- 
cies relative  to  Egypt.  After  citing  an  unfavorable  cha- 
racter of  the  Egyptians,  he  says,  'such  men  are  evidently 
born  not  to  command,  but  to  serve  and  obey.  They  are 
altogether  unworthy  of  liberty.  Slavery  is  the  fittest  for 
them,  as  they  are  fittest  for  slavery.'  I  confess  I  ad- 
mire  not  the  spirit  in  which  these  remarks  arc  written.  The 
author  of  them  forgot,  that  the  vices  of  the  Egvptians, 
which  are  a  solid  ground  of  regret,  are  the  natural  growth 


73  Vol.  I.  p.  1T5,  1~6,  196— ^OO. 


CHAP.   XXV.  /  139 

of  the  unfavorable  situation  in.  which  they  are  placed.  It 
is  against  the  detested  government  of  their  country,  the 
source  of  all  their  evils,  that  he  should  have  directed  the 
plenitude  of  his  indignation.  The  statement  of  a  modern 
infidel  upon  the  subject  is  more  rational  than  that  of  the 
Christian  prelate.  But  the  sentiments  which  the  bishop  of 
Bristol  has  here  discovered,  and  those  which  the  genius  of 
genuine  Christianity  inspires,  are,  I  trust,  dictated  by  a  far 
different  spirit.  '  If,'  says  Volney,  '  we  attentively  examine 
the  causes  of  the  debasement  of  the  Egyptians,  we  shall 
find,  that  this  people,  depressed  by  cruel  circumstances,  are 
more  deserving  of  pity  than  contempt^'*.' 

Upon  Egypt,  as  well  as  upon  other  countries,  new  and 
brighter  scenes  will  assuredly  dawn.  The  period,  it  may 
be  expected,  will  at  length  arrive,  when  Egypt  shall  not 
only  equal,  but  greatly  surpass,  the  populousness  and  pros- 
perity of  ancient  times:  and  when  the  descendants  of  Ish- 
mael  shall  lay  aside  the  ferocity  of  their  ancient  manners, 
lead  a  more  sedentary  and  tranquil  life,  and  cultivate  the 
friendship  of  all  the  various  tribes  of  mankind,  who  shaU 
occasionally  visit  their  country  from  motives  of  curiosity  or 
commerce. 


74  Vol.  I.   p.  196 


140  C^AP.   xxvl. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


ON    THE    SEVENTH    VIAL. 


HAVING  briefly  treated  on  the  sixth  vial,  I  now  jiro- 
reed  to  the  seventh,  which  corresponds  to  the  last  period 
of  the  seventh  trumpet.  That  the  book  of  Revelation 
comprises  many  contemporaneous  predictions,  none  who 
are  conversant  in  it  need  to  be  informed.  Such  persons, 
therefore,  will  not  be  surprised,  that  an  event  of  such  mag- 
nitude, or,  I  should  rather  say,  a  series  of  events  of  such 
importance,  as  the  fall  of  all  antichristian  dominion  in 
Europe,  should  be  pointed  out  in  more  than  one  place  and 
in  a  different  manner.  In  the  representation  of  the  last 
of  the  vials,  St.  John  has  interwoven  the  loftiest  figures 
of  prophetic  diction ;  and,  as  the  sublime  is  often  destined 
to  become  obscure,  in  any  degree  to  penetrate  their  latent 
meaning  would  be  scarcely  possible,  did  we  not  receive  im- 
portant aid  from  parallel  passages.  If  is  partly  on  this 
account,  that  the  consideration  of  the  seventh  vial  has  been 
deferred  to  the  present  chapter. 

It  is  in  the  conclusion  of  ch.  xvi.  immediately  after  the 
.dccount  of  the  defeat  of  the  royal  confederates  at  Arma- 
geddon', that  the  account  of  this  vial  occurs.  And  the 
seventh  angel  poured  out  his  vial  into  the  air ;  and  there 
ca^ne  a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple^  sayings  it  is  done.  And 
there  xvere  voices^  and  thunders^  and  lightnings  ;  and  there 
was  a  great  earthquake,  such  as  ivas  not  since  men  were  upon 
the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake,  and  so  great.  And  the 
great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts,  and  the  cities  of  the 
natioJis  fell :  and  great  Babylon  came  in  remembrance  before 
Cod,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the  zvine  of  the  fierceness  of 

1  *  Upon  this  great  and  last  effort  of  the  anticlu'istian  powers,'  says  Mr. 
Jj^owtnan,  the  seventh  vial  is  poured  out,  '  full  of  the  wrath  of  Cod.' 


tsHAP.  xxv-r.  141 

his  7urath.  And  every  island  fed  axuay^  and  the  moimtains 
zvere  not  found.  And  there  fell  upon  men  a  great  hail  out 
of  heavfin^  every  stone  about  the  xveight  of  a  talent:  and  men 
blasphemed  God  because  'of  the  plague  of  the  h<til ;  for  the 
plague  thereof  xvas  exceeding  great. 

The  seventh  vial,  says  bp.  Newton,  will  '  complete  th^- 
ruin  of  the  kingdom  of  the  beast^'  It  points  out,  says 
Mr.  Pyle,  the  total  destruction  of  the  antichristian  empire. 
That  the  weight  of  it  is  to  fall  '  on  all  the  antichris- 
tian powers,'  is  the  observation  of  Mr.  Lowmanj  and 
that  '  the  seventh  vial  contains  in  it  the  last  ruin  of  the 
beast  and  his  party,'  is  the  declai-ation  of  Dr.  Cressener^ 
Since  this,  then,  is  the  undoubted  effect  of  the  seventh 
vial,  and  it  is  elsewhere  plainly  foretold,  that  the  suppres- 
sion of  all  the  antichristian  monarchies  is  introductory  to 
the  millenniary  period  ;  it  seems  probable,  that  the  expres- 
sion it  is  done^  signifies,  that,  with  respect  to  these  monar- 
chies, and  all  species  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  it  is  finished, 
it  is  concluded,  and  the  sentence  against  them  is  carried 
into  execvition. 

'  This  vial  is  said  to  be  poured  upon  the  air,  the  seat  and 
region  of  sounds,  voices,  thunders  and  lightnings,  which 
are  the  emblems  of  the  vast  changes  in  the  face  of  affairs 
now  to  be  wrought.  And  the  air,  surrounding  and  com- 
prehending the  whole  earth  and  sea,  denotes  these  changes 
to  be  total.'  Thus  far  Mr.  Pyle.  But  his  observations, 
though  not  injudicious,  are  not  perfectly  satisfactory.  Here 
then  I  recur  to  Vitringa.  The  air ^  he  observes,  signifies  in 
this,  as  it  frequently  does  in  other  places,  the  heaven;  and 
accordingly  the  pouring  of  this  vial  upon  the  air,  he  de- 
clares, does  without  doubt  allude  to  the  darkening  of  the 
symbolic  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars.      There  xvere  thunders 


2  Vol.  III.  p.  267.  At  the  pouring-  out  of  tliis  vicol,  « the  monarchies 
of  this  world,'  says  an  early  annotator,  '  shall  be  broken  and  destroyed 
utterly.'     Apoc.  Myst.  By  H.  K.   Part.  II.  p.  25. 

3  yudg.  on  the  JRovi.  Ch.  p.  216. 


142  CHAP.  XXVI. 

a7id  lightnings.  As  thundcfs  agitate  the  heavens,  so  sym- 
bolic thunders  are  those  events  which  shake  the  political 
heavens  or  existing  governments  of  the  world,  immediately 
previous  to  their  fall ;  and  says  Daubuz,  '  as  Jire  signifies 
destruction,  so  the  fire  coming  out  of  the  lightnings  im- 
plies the  destruction  of  God's  enemies,  that  oppose  his 
laws*.'  And  there  was  a  great  earthquake^  such  as  was  not 
since  men  xvere  upon  the  earth.  This  revolution  was  not  to 
be  partial,  was  not  to  be  confined  to  this  or  that  country ; 
but  was  at  length  to  effect,  in  Europe  at  least,  a  radical 
alteration  in  all  the  governments  that  were  hitherto  unre- 
formed.  It  was  to  surpass,  in  extent  and  magnitude,  all  the 
changes  which  had  ever  been  accomplished  in  the  world. 

And  the  great  city  xvas  divided  into  three  parts.  The 
great  city  is  the  European  part  of  the  Roman  empire  ;  but 
what  is  signified  by  its  division  into  three  distinct  parts, 
the  accomplishment  of  the  prophecy  alone  will  explain^. 
^nd  the  cities  of  the  nations  fell^.  They  fell  away  from 
the  different  communions  of  corrupted  religion,  preparatory 
to  their  embracing  of  the  religion  of  Jesus,  in  its  purity 
and  simplicity,  as  taught  by  the  great  founder  of  it.  And 
great  Babylon  caine  in  remembrance  before  God^  to  give  unto 
her  the  cup  of  the  xvine  of  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath.  This 
clause,  which  sounds  somewhat  harshly  in  our  translation, 
is  thus  rendered  by  Mr.  Wakefield:  and  Babylon  the  great 


4  P.  174. 

5  The  following'  is  the  conjecture  of  an  early  interpreter  :  '  tlie  great  city 
was  divided  into  three  parts,  some  are  hardened  in  their  ignorance,  and 
some  are  drawn  out  of  it,  and  a  third  part  will  stand  neuter  between  both, 
to  see  which  way  the  balance  will  turn.'  Cotton  on  the  Vials,  1645, 
p.  153. 

6  Mr.  Pyle,  speaking  of  this  text,  and  the  antichrlstian  empire,  says, 
'  the  cities  of  the  nations  shall  Jail  off  from  its  interests  ;'  and  adds,  it  is 
to  be  taken  *  in  the  same  sense  as  the  Tenth  Part  is  said  to  have  fallen, 
ch.  xi.  13.'  An  annotator  of  the  last  century  would  thus  interpret  the 
words.  •  By  the  cities  of  the  nations  we  may  understand  national  churches. 
The  great  whore  is  called  the  great  city ;  so  the  harlots,  who  are  her  daugh- 
ters, chap.  xvii.  5,  are  here  called  the  cities  of  the  nations'  Apoc.  Myst. 
by  H.  K.   Part.  ii.  p.  32. 


CHAP.    XXVI.  14^ 

was  remembered  before  G.od,  to  have  given  her  the  cup  of  the 
hitter  xvine  of  his  indignation.  The  antichristlan  church, 
which  had  so  well  deserved  the  epithet  of  great,  "from  being- 
established  in  so  many  different  countries,  the  Deity  will 
no  longer  suffer  to  exist.  The  fair  countenance  of  religion 
it  will  no  longer  deform.  The  contagion  of  infidelity  it 
Avill  cease  to  diffuse.  From  under  it  will  be  taken  those 
golden  pillars,  by  which  it  had  hitherto  been  supported. 
Its  damnatory  creeds  will  be  trampled  under  foot,  and  its 
priests  despoiled  of  their  usurped  authority.  And  every 
island  fed  azvay^  and  the  mountains  ivere  not  found''.  The 
governments  of  Europe,  if  antichristian,  shall  receive  such 
a  mighty  shock,  that  they  shall  pass  away,  and  be  com- 
pletely dissolved,  And  there  fell  upon  men  a  great  hail  out 
of  heaven^  every  stone  about  the  xveight  of  a  talent.  The 
words  which  immediately  follow  are  from  Mr.  Waple. 
*  And  there  fell  upon  the  wicked  kings  and  men  of  the  earth, 
who  were  gathered  together  against  Christ's  kingdom,  v. 
14,  16,  a  great  hail  out  of  heaven."*  Now,  says  Dr.  Lan- 
caster, '  hail,  by  all  the  oneirocritics,  c.  cxix,  is  interpreted 
of  inroads  of  enemies  killing  and  destroving.'  and  '  it  is 
used  to  the  very  same  purpose  in  the  prophets^'  When, 
therefore,  it  is  added,  that  every  stone,  which  fell  upon 
them,  was  about  the  weight  of  a  talent ;  it  seems  necessarv 
to  understand,  that  all  the  profligate  princes,  and  the  Avhole 
tribe  of  those  who  oppose  the  commencement  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ  in  Europe  (for  this  is  the  part  of  the  globi- 
which  the  apostle  John  has  here  in  view),  shall  not  only  be 
defeated  in  war,  but  that  the  calamities  resulting  fi'om  the 
prosecution  of  it,  will,  previously  to  their  utter  discom- 
fiture, be  extraordinarily  heavy  and  severe.  The  figurativt- 
hail  is  to  fall  from  the  symbolic  heaven  ;  i.  e.  it  is  to  descend 
from  some  of  those  governments,  which  are  founded  on  tht- 
rights  of  man,  and  which  are  now  become  hostile  to  the 


7  Oil  the  two  clauses  of  this  sentence  I  refer  the  reader  to  p.  75  aii»i 
ji.  7&. 

8  T\\'\'i  is  shev.ii  at  length  in  tho  pronhotio  ulphabf <  of  Dr  Moi'e. 


144  CHAP.    XXVI. 

tyrants  who  trample  on  them.  For  it  is  nbt  to  be  supposed, 
that  the  Deity,  benevolent  as  he  is,  will  interpose,  visibly  and 
miraculously,  to  overturn  the  arbitrary  monarchies  of  the 
world,  which  are  so  fatally  subversive  of  human  happiness. 
The  agency  of  those  natural  causes,  which  he  has  appointed 
to  operate,  will,  at  length,  be  found  fully  adequate  to  the 
production  of  this  gi'eat  catastrophe. 

The  destruction  of  the  antichristian  empire,  as  Mr.  Pyle 
remarks,  '  is  not  to  be  understood  as  effected  in  a  single 
point  of  time  and  all  at  once  ;  but  gradually  and  by  suc- 
ceeding events  of  Providence  one  after  another^.'  The 
prophet,  also,  it  is  observable,  declares,  that  those  who  were 
chastised  by  the  judgments  of  the  last  of  the  vials  blas- 
phemed God^  It  is  plain  then^  that  this  class  of  persons, 
notwithstanding  their  sufferings,  will  not  all  at  once  repent ; 
and  it  is  probable,  that  this  generation  of  them  will  continue 
to  breathe  sentiments  adverse  to  the  welfare  of  mankind. 
Hence  too  is  the  position  evident,  that  there  xvill  be  no  su- 
pernatural interference  of  the  Deity.  Were  this  to  happen, 
and  did  Christ  appear  in  person,  they  xvoidd  repent.  The 
light  of  truth  would  be  too  powerful  to  be  farther  resisted. 

With  a  reference,  to  the  seventh  vial,  and  the  prophecies 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  parallel  to  it,  I  shall  quote 
the  words  of  a  celebrated  prelate.  '  If  a  long  series  of 
prophecy  is  applicable  to  the  present  state  of  the  church, 
and  to  the  political  situations  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world, 
some  thousand  years  after  these  prophecies  were  delivered, 
and  a  long  series  of  prophecy  delivered  before  the  coming 
of  Christ  is  applicable  to  him  ;  these  things  are  in  them- 
selves a  proof,  that  the  prophetic  history  was  intended  of 
him,  and  of  those  events  :  in  proportion  as  the  general  turn 
of  it  is  capable  of  such  application,  and  to  the  number  and 
variety  of  particular  prophecies  capable  of  it'°.' 

To  elucidate  what  is  said  in  the  seventh  vial  respecting 
the  symbolic  Babylon,  chap,  xvii  and  xviii  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse should  be  consulted.     From  these  chapters  some  pas- 

9  P.  135.  10  Butler's  Analogy,  l^.^O,  p.  ^Q.^. 


CHAP.  XXVI.  14-5 

sages  have,  indeed,  already  been  quoted.  But  there  are 
two,  which  are  remarkable,  and  which  have  not  been 
cited,  which  shall  now  be  alleged.  It  is  not  improbable, 
that,  to  a  careless  observer,  they  may  have  appeared  alto- 
gether irreconcileable. 

St.  John,  after  announcing  the  fall  of  Babylon,  says, 
And  the  kings  of  the  earthy  who  have  committed  fornication 
and  lived  deliciously  xvith  hei\  shall  bewail  her ^  and  lament 
for  her^^,  when  they  shall  see  the  smoke  of  her  burning  ; 
standing  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her  torment^'^^  sayings 
alas^  alas^  that  great  city  Babylon^  that  mighty  city  /  for 
in  one  hour  is  thy  judgment  come^^. 

Apprised  that  their  own  interests  and  their  own  fate 
are  intimately  involved  in  her's,  it  is  no  wonder,  that  they 
sympathise  in  her  sufferings,  and,  when  they  contemplate 
the  progress  of  her  overthrow,  feel  the  most  poignant  emo- 
tions of  grief  and  disquietude.  It  is  to  be  expected,  with 
respect  also  to  this  prophecy,  that  it  will  not  all  at  once  be 
accomplished,  but  that  it  will  have  successive  stages  of  ful- 
filment. Already  has  it  begun  to  be  verified.  At  the  fall 
of  that  hierarchy,  which  belongs  to  the  Tenth  Part  of  the 
city^  as  well  as  at  the  subsequent  abolition  of  other  national 
churches,  the  kings  of  the  earth  were  to  lament  for  her^  and 
to  bewail  her  fate,  when  they  perceive  that  her  judgment  is 
eomcy  suddenly  and  unexpectly.  Since  the  first  of  these 
verses  represents  the  antichristian  kings  of  Europe  a.s  having 
not  only  comiJiitted  fornicatioji  with  that  emblematic  per- 
sonage, the  Babylonish  Avoman,  but  as  having  also  lived  de- 
ll *  The  Holy  Ghost  is  not  content  to  say,  that  they  wept,  or  bewailed 
with  tears,  which  is  the  signilication  of  xAanryr*,  but  they  proceeded 
to  the  excess  of  gi-ief  practised  among-  the  Jews  ;  which  consisted  in 
knocking  tlieir  breasts,  which  is  the  sig-nification  of  Ka-^ovTcci.'  Dau-^ 
buz  in  loc.  Accordingly  Mr.  Wakefield's  translation  runs  thus  :  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth,  who  shared  in  her  luhoreduins  and  luxuries,  ivill  iveep  over 
her,  and  beat  themselves  in  sorrow. 

12  '  Standing  afar  off,  for  the  fear  of  her  torment,   which,'  sajs  Mrt- 
Waple,  •  they  know  they  have  deserved,  and  must  shortly  feel.' 

13  XVIII.  9,  10. 

Vol.  II.  T 


146  CHAP.  XXVI, 

Viciously  xvith  her ;  does  it  not  seem  to  point  out,  itot  merely 
their  idolatries,  but  also  that  kixury  and  prodigality  of  ex- 
pense, which  have  distinguished  so  many  of  the  European 
courts,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Roman  pontiff,  and  many  of 
the  more  opulent  prelates,  and  which  have  had  so  fatal  an 
influence  in  spreading  the  contagion  of  vice  through  all 
ranks  of  society  ? 

The  other  passage,  which  I  proposed  to  notice,  is  in  ch. 
xvii,  where  the  angel  of  the  vision  says,  aiid  the  ten  horns^ 
xvhich  thou  saxv est  upon  the  beast ^  these  shall  hate  the  whore ^ 
and  shall  make  her  desolate^  and  naked^  and  shall  eat  her 
Jleshi  and  burn  her  with  fre.  Since  it  is  plain,  that  those 
who  destroy  the  hierarchies  of  Europe  cannot  be  those  who 
lament  their  fall'* ;  we  are  under  the  necessity  of  conclud- 
ing, that  the  ten  horns,  which  are  represented  in  this  verse 
as  overturning  their  respective  ecclesiastical  establishments, 
must,  previously  to  this,  have  undergone  some  essential 
change.  Those  new  governments,  which  shall  be  esta- 
blished, in  the  different  countries  of  the  Western  Roman 
empire,  on  the  ruins  of  the  old  ones,  they  accordingly  ap- 
pear to  denote. 

It  has  already  been  seen,  that  an  horn  is  a  symbol  sus- 
ceptible of  some  latitude  of  signification  ;  since  it  is  applied 
not  only  to  proper  monarchies,  but  also  to  the  papacy.    '  An 


14  This  difficulty  is  so  palpable  as  to  have  been  long'  felt.  The  follow- 
ing is  S  mode  of  removing  it.  Previously  to  my  introduction  of  it,  I  ob- 
serve, that  the  author  of  the  Neve  System  of  the  Apocalypse  supposes,  erro- 
neously as  I  conceive,  that  the  proper  and  only  signilication  of  tlie  de- 
sti'uction  of  Babylon  by  the  ten  horns,  described  in  ch.  xviii,  is  the  de- 
struction of  the  city  of  Rome.  *  If,'  says  he  (p.  103),  '  it  shall  be  objected, 
that  this  is  contrary  to  what  St.  John  saith  of  kings,  namely,  that  upon  the- 
beholding  the  smoke  of  her  Inirning,  they  shall  oiiour/i  o'ver  her  :  I  answer, 
that  when  Rome  comes  to  be  besieged,  fii-e  from  lieaven  will  fall  upon 
her,  as  it  did  upon  Sodom  ;  and  that  tlie  kings  who  had  besieged  her  will 
lament  and  mourn^  to  find  that  the  immediate  hand  of  God  should  ravish 
them  of  so  fine  a  prey,  and  so  rich  a  spoil,  as  that  would  have  l^een.'  A 
writer,  so  well  acquainted  with  the  symbolic  structure  of  the  Apocalypse, 
would  not  liave  embraced  so  improbable  an  explication,  had  it  not  been 
found  convenient  for  obviating  a  perplexing  difficulty. 


CHAP  XXVI.  147 

horn  is  an  emblem  of  strength,  so  it  comes  to  signify  power 
and  authority  : — and  from  thence  it  is  applied  to  denote 
sovereignty  or  dominion'^'  In  agreement  with  this  exten- 
sive meaning  of  the  word,  the  commentators  observe,  and 
among  others  bp.  Newton'^,  Daubuz'^,  and  Vitringa,  that 
a  horn  may  denote  a  republic  as  well  as  a  monarchy.  Of 
itself  it  is  not  a  symbol  of  bad  import.  But,  Dr.  Lancas- 
ter observes,  '  horns  upon  a  wild  beast  are  not  only  expres- 
sive of  powers,  but  also  of  such  powers  as  are  tyrannical, 
ravenous,  and  at  enmity  with  God.'  There  is  no  need, 
then,  to  suppose,  that  the  ten  horns,  which  are  to  be  the 
destroyers  of  Babylon^  are  the  identical  ten  horns,  which 
constituted  the  wild  beast,  pourtrayed  by  St.  John  in  the 
xiiith  ch.  and  represented  by  him  as  principally  carrying  on 
his  tyranny  for  the  period  of  1260  years.  They  are  their 
immediate  successors.  In  ch.  xii.  the  prophet  makes  men- 
tion often  horns'%  which  were  t\ie  predecessors  of  the  ten- 
horned  wild-beast,  were  then  in  a  dependent  state^%  and 
constituted  the  dominions  of  another  personage,  the  dra- 
gon, the  representative  of  Pagan  Rome.  We  have,  there- 
fore, the  less  reason  to  wonder,  that,  in  the  passage  under 
consideration,  other  ten  horns  are  spoken  of  as  existing, 
after  that  the  Beast  described  in  ch.  xiii  was  destroyed. 

Daniel,  speaking  of  the  little  horn^  says  (vii.  26),  but  the 
judgment  shall  sit,  and  they  shall  take  away  his  dotninion; 
to  consume  and  to  destroy  it  unto  the  end.  An  attentive  in- 
spection of  this  passage,  and  of  the  context,  will  serve  to 
shew,  that  the  papacy  will  not  be  demolished,  and  the 
church  of  Rome  dissolved,  by  the  sovereigns  of  Europe, 
but  by  the  newly-erected  governments.  It  is,  indeed, 
plainly  incredible,  that  the  princes  of  the  European  world 


15  Mr.  Lowth  on  Dan.  vii.  24. 

16  Vol.  II.  p.  33.  17  P.  507. 

18  .  3. 

19  '  The  ten  horns  of  the  dragon  are  not  adorned  with  crowns,  because 
they  were  nothing  save  bare  provinces  of  Heathen  Rome  under  the  em- 
perors.'    Kf^i!  Syst.  of  Apoc.  p.  50. 


148  CHAP.   XXVI. 

should  be  so  blind  to  their  interests,  as  to  discard  so  pow- 
ful,  so  active,  and  so  zealous  an  ally  as  the  church ;  and 
should,  notwithstanding  the  recollection  of  past,  and  the 
hope  of  future,  services,  meditate  her  ruin,  and  declare 
open  war  against  her. 

When  St.  John  says,  the  ten  horns — shall  eat  the  fiesh 
of  the  whore  of  Babylon,  and  hum  her  xv'ithjire^  the  slight- 
est attention  to  these  expressions,  it  might  be  apprehended, 
would  be  sufficient  to  persuade  him,  who  is  conversant  in 
the  language  of  prophecy,  that  they  are  to  be  figuratively 
imderstood.  Yet  bp.  Newton,  notwithstanding  he  admits 
that  the  former  of  these  prophetic  clauses  is  symbolical, 
nevertheless  supposes,  that  to  hum  her  with  jire  is  to  be 
literally  understood,  and  signifies,  that  the  city  of  Rome 
shall  be  totally  consumed  by  fire.  He  thinks  it  worthy  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  divine  author  of  the  Apocalypse,  that 
an  ample  portion  of  it  should  relate  to  the  conflagration  and 
desolate  state  of  the  papal  city  ;  and  declares  it  to  be  his 
opinion,  that  the  whole  of  the  xviiith  ch.  consisting  of  four 
and  twenty  verses,  is  of  an  import  thus  confined.  This 
opinion,  having  been  long  ago  advanced,  is  opposed  by  Dr. 
More.  After  observing,  that  to  burn  with  fire  '  signifies 
only  to  consume  and  destroy,  and  to  make  to  cease  to  be 
what  it  was  ;'  he  says,  '  I  must  confess  I  see  no  necessity  of 
any  such  war,  as  should  aim  at  the  burning  of  the  ancient 
city  of  Rome,  but  that  this  prophecy  may  be  fulfilled  with- 
out any  such  martial  noise,  or  ruins,  or  garments  rolled  in 
blood".' 

The  ten  horns  shall  hate  the  rvhore^  Sec.  '  These  words, 
says  Brenius,  '  do  not  require,  that  they  should  all,  at  the 
same  time,  rise  up  against  the  whore,  but  it  is  sufficient  for 
their  punctual  verification,  that  now  these,  now  those, 
should  conceive,  on  cliflFerent  occasions,  a  detestation  of 
her,  until  at  length,  with  united  force  and  council,  they 
conspire  for  her  destruction.'  Accordingly  we  find,  that 
this  prophecy  has  already  begun  to  be  fulfilled.    The  French 

50  Mvst.  of  Iniq.  p.  306. 


CHAP.  XXVI.  149 

nation  have  overthrown  their  hierarchy,  despoiled  her  of 
her  ornaments,  and  resumed  her  territorial  revenues. 

To   prove   that   the   explanation   I  have    offered   of  St. 
John's  words  is  no  novel  interpretation ;  I  shall  quote  from 
two  writers   of  the   last  century,   and    first  from  the   ce- 
lebrated  Dr.  John   Owen.     '    The  ten  horns,  zuhich  thou 
sarvest  npon  the  beast,  being  now  shaken,   changed,  and 
translated   in   mind,    interest,   and   perhaps  government  ; 
these  hate  the  xvhore,  and  shall  make  her  desolate.^     And,  a 
little  farther,  he  states  his  opinion  in  more  decisive  lan- 
guage, and  does  not  employ  a  perhaps.     Speaking  of  the 
*■  total  destruction  of  Babylon,  the  man  of  sin,  and   all  his 
adherents  ;'  he  says,  '  as  Sampson,  intending  the  destruc- 
tion of  the   princes,  lords  and  residue  of  the  Philistines, 
who  were  gathered  together  in  their  idol-temple,  effected 
it  by  pulling  away  the  pillars   whereby  the   building  was 
supported,    whereupon   the   whole   frame   toppled   to   the 
ground ;  so  the  Lord,  intending  the  ruin  of  that  mighty 
power,  whose  top  seems  to  reach  to  heaven,  will  do  it  by 
pulling  away  the  pillars  and  supporters  of  it,  after  which  it 
cannot  stand  one  moment.     Now'  what  are   the  pillars   of 
that  fatal  building  ?  Are  they  not  the  powers  of  the  world, 
as  presently  stated  and  framed  ? — In  this  mighty  work  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  make  use  of  the  power  of  the  na- 
tions, the  horns  of  them,  that  is  their  strength.  Rev.   xvii. 
16.     They  must  hate  the  xvhore,  and  make  her  desolate,  and 
naked,  and  eat  her  jlesh,  and  hum  her  with  fire.     Now 
whether  this  can  be  accomplished,  or  no  in  their  present 
posture,  is   easily  discernible. — Are  not  most  potentates 
tied  by  oath,  or  other  compact,  to  maintain  either  the  whole 
or  some  part,  of  the  old  tower,  under  the  name  of  rites  of 
holy  church,  prelates,  and  the  like  ?  And  can  any  expect, 
that  such  as  these  should  take  up  the   despised  quarrel  of 
the  saints   against  that  flourishing  queen^'?   Doubtless  no 

21  Di".  Owen  means  the  whore  of  Babylon,  of  whom  St.  John  says  (xviii- 
7),  that  she  saith  in  lier  heart,  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  no  ividow,  and  shall  see 
no  sorrov.     She  is  no  widow,  because  she  has  a  marriag^e-coatract,  or  ra- 


150  CHAP.  XXVi 

such  fruit  ^vill  grow  on  these  trees,  before  they  are  tho- 
roughly shaken".'  My  next  citation  is  from  Mr.  Haugh- 
ton's  Treatise  on  Antichrist.  '  By  horns  here,  it  is  not 
needful  to  understand  kings  in  the  strictness  and  formality 
of  the  notion.'  By  the  ten  horns  '  is  meant  only,  the  su- 
preme power  of  the  ten  nations,  by  what  names  or  titles 
soever  they  are  called.  Christ  by  the  earthquake  will 
shake  down  those  powers,  in  v/hom  are  found  a  deal  of  car- 
nal and  popish  dregs,  and  set  up  those  in  their  room  that 
are  men  of  other  spirits,  pares  negotio^  fit  for  such  a  busi- 
ness as  Christ  hath  in  hand.  Doubtless,  the  ten  horns 
are  the  ten  supreme  Powers  of  Europe,  who  shall  do  the 
deed,  that  is  so  much  desired  and  prayed  for".' 

On  the  prophet's  emblem  of  horns  enough  has  been  said. 
The  meaning  of  the  other  symbols  I  now  proceed  minutely 
to  develope.  And  the  ten  herns  shall  hate  the  zvhore  of  Ba- 
bylon. For  the  church  of  Rome,  and  every  ecclesiastical 
tyranny,  the  new  governments  shall  entertain  sentiments  of 
fixed  detestation  and  abhorrence.  They  shall  make  her  de- 
solate^ i.  e.  they  shall  cause  her  false  worship  to  be  aban- 
doned :  and  they  shall,  adds  the  prophet,  make  her  naked., 
i.  e.  shall  bring  shame  and  disgrace  upon  the  antichristian 
church;  for  nakedness  is,  says  Dr.  Lancaster,  a  symbol  of 
these  ideas.  Her  Jlesh  also  they  shall  eat.  On  these  sym- 
bols I  quote  from  Dr.  Lancaster.  '  Flesh  signifies  the  riches, 
goods,  and  possessions  of  any  person  or  subject,  conquered, 
oppressed,  or  slain.'  For  proof  of  this,  appeal  may  be 
made  to  the  Psalms,  to  Isaiah,  to  Micah,  and  to  Zachariah. 
'  And  thus  in  Dan.  vii.  5,  to  devour  much  flesh  is  to  con- 
quer and  spoil  many  enemies  of  their  lands  and  possessions. 
All  the  oneirocritics  concur  in  the  same  exposition  of  this 


thci"  because  she  carries  on  an  adulterous  commerce,  with  the  king's  of 
the  earth.  '  He,'  says  Dr.  Owen,  *  that  thinks  Babylon  is  confined  to 
Rome,  and  its  open  idolatry,  knows  nothing  of  Babylon,  nor  of  the  JVeiu 
Jerusalem.'     Col.  of  Serin,  serm.  37. 

22  Col.  of  Serm.  serm.  32. 

23  P.  98,  99.     The  ten  homs  in  this  passage  Lowman   explains  of  the 
natims  of  Eui'opc. 


CHAP.  XXVI.  151 

symbol.'  For  Instance,  the  Indian  interpreter,  in  Achmet, 
*  says  compendiously  and  at  once,  flesh  is  universally  inter- 
preted of  riches.  To  the  same  purpose  speaks  also  Arte 
midorus.'  To  eat^  *  when  it  comes  under  the  noUon  of 
devouring,  signifies  destruction  any  way,  or  taking  frona 
others.'  From  this  clause  of  the  prophet,  says  Daubuz, 
'  it  appears,  that  the  Secular  powers,  who  shall  attack  this 
ivhore^  will  not  only  strip  her  of  her  riches  and  revenues, 
but  shall  appropriate  them  to  themselves.'  To  conclude 
the  whole,  they  shall  burn  her  xvithfire.  These  are  both 
symbols  of  destruction.  I,  therefore,  cannot  employ  anv 
words,  which  will  suggest  a  more  correct  idea  of  their 
meaning,  than  those  of  Mr.  Cradock  upon  this  passage. 
They  '  shall  utterly  destroy  her.' 

The  destroyers  of  the  symbolic  Babylon,  says  Daubuz, 
will  appropriate  her  riches  to  themselves.  It  will,  indeed, 
be  admitted,  that  every  hierarchy,  which  is  antichristian, 
it  is  proper  to  dissolve  ;  and,  when  dissolved,  to  whom  can 
its  possession  so  properly  revert  as  to  the  nation,  in  whose 
bosom  it  was  seated,  and  to  the  government,  which  theij 
have  thought  proper  to  constitute  ?  On  the  right  which  a 
state  possesses  to  alienate  the  lands,  and  to  terminate  the 
existence,  of  an  established  church,  the  Vindic'ice  Gall'icK 
of  Mackintosh  may  be  consulted.  '  The  lands  of  the 
church,'  says  this  able  reasoner  and  eloquent  writer,  '  pos- 
sess not  the  most  simple  and  indispensible  requisites  of  pro- 
perty. They  are  not  even  pretended  to  be  held  for  the  i^c- 
7ze^?  of  those  who  enjoy  them.  This  is  the  obvious  criterion 
between  private  property  and  ?i  pension  for  public  service. 
The  destination  of  the  first  is  avowedly  the  comfort  and 
happiness  of  the  individual  who  enjoys  it.'  It  is  confessed, 
that  no  individual  priest  is  a  proprietor.  Now  if  all  the 
priests,  taken  individually^  are  '  not  proprietors,  the  priest- 
hood, as  a  body^  cannot  claim  any  such  right.  For  what  is 
a  body^  but  an  aggregate  of  individuals,  and  what  new 
right  can  be  conveyed  by  a  mere  change  of  name? — All 
men  who  enter  into  the  public  service  must  do  so  with  the 
implied  condition  of  subjecting  their  emoluments,  and  even 


152  CHAP.    XXVf. 

their  official  existence,  to  the  exigencies  of  the  state.-— 
The  property  of  individuals  is  established  on  a  ^ewera/ prin- 
ciple, which  seems  coeval  with  civil  society  itself.  But 
bodies  are  instruments  fabricated  by  the  legislator  for  a 
specific  purpose,  which  ought  to  be  preserved  while  they 
are  beneficial,  amended  when  they  are  impaired,  and  re- 
jected Avhen  they  become  useless  or  injurious^.' 

'  The  treaty  of  Westphalia,'  says  Mr.  Mackintosh,  '  secu- 
larised many  of  the  most  opulent  benefices  of  Germany, 
under  the  mediation  and  guarantee  of  the  first  Catholic 
powers  of  Europe.  In  our  own  island,  on  the  abolition  of 
episcopacy  in  Scotland  at  the  Revolution,  the  revenues  of 
the  church  peaceably  devolved  on  the  sovereign,  and  he  de« 
voted  a  portion  of  them  to  the  support  of  the  new  esta- 
blishment. When  at  a  still  later  period,  the  Jesuits  were 
suppressed  in  most  Catholic  monarchies,  the  wealth  of  that 
formidable  and  opulent  body  was  every  where  seized  by 
the  sovereign^^.'  A  foreign  writer,  speaking  of  the  empe- 
ror Joseph,  and  his  hostility  to  the  monks  and  abbes  of  his 
dominions,  says,  '  Here  you  see  the  good  which  war  effects 
in  Christianity;  for  war  costs  immense  sums,  and  princes 
borrow.  New  wars,  new  debts,  which  must  be  paid.  The 
treasury  being  empty,  what  is  to  be  done  ?  The  only  re- 
medy is  to  strip  the  clergy  of  their  wealth ;  and  necessity 
obliges  monarchs  to  recur  to  this  sole  remaining  expedient. 
Were  our  Calvin  a  witness  of  these  events,  he  would  thus 
address  us.  Admire,  brethren,  the  impenetrable  ways  of 
Providence !  The  Being  of  Beings,  who  abhors  the  hor- 
rible and  sacrilegious  superstition  into  which  the  church  has 
fallen,  makes  not  the  voice  of  the  sage  the  instrument  to 
render  truth  triumphant ;  nor  deigns  to  work  miracles  to 
root  up  error!  What  then  is  the  instrument  this  Being 
employs  for  the  destruction  of  monks  ;  and  to  cause  those 
vile  and  impure  organs  of  fanaticism  to  vanish  from  the  face 
of  the  earth?     Kings,  brethren.  Kings!     That  is  to  say, 

24  See  edit.  1.  p.  82—102.  25  P.  9J 


CHAP.    XXVIi  iSS 

the  most  ignorant  species  of  men  that  crawl  on  the  surface 
of  this  globe.  And  how  does  the  great  Demiurgos  make 
this  ignorant  species  promote  his  end?  By  their  interest, 
brethren.  Yes!  Infamous  interest!  For  once,  thou  shalt 
be  useful  to  mankind;  by  exciting  the  passions  of  these 
demi-gods  of  the  age,  by  bidding  them  pillage  the  hoards 
of  priests,  thou  shalt  arm  them  with  a  destructive  falchion, 
to  cut  off  the  race  whose  sacrilegious  appetite  and  insatiate 
entrails  were  unceasingly  crammed  with  flesh  and  blood.' 
The  reader  may  perhaps  be  ready  to  conjecture,  that  the 
passage  which  he  has  just  perused  has  been  written  subse- 
quent to  the  accomplishment  of  the  French  Revolution ; 
and  perhaps  he  will  suspect  it  to  be  the  production  of  a  na- 
tive of  France,  and  a  zealot  of  democracy.  But  it  is  far 
otherwise.  The  author  of  this  invective  against  princes 
and  priests  was  himself  a  sovereign  and  a  tyrants  It  is 
extracted  fiom  a  letter,  which  was  written  by  the  late  king 
of  Prussia  to  M.^D'Alembert,  and  dated  the  14th  of  July^ 
1781^^ 

But  though  his  Prussian  majesty's  statement  be  perfectly 
true,  that  the  scepter ed  despots  of  Europe  have,  in  many 
instances,  seized  on  a  large  poi^tion  of  the  wealth  of  those, 
who  plunder  or  tyranniseun  an  ecclesiastical  character ;  yet 
there  are  the  strongest  reasons  for  concluding,  that  the 
power  of  the  latter  will  be  completely  demolished,  and 
their  revenues  principally  confiscated,  not  by  the  rapacity 
of  monarchs,  but  by  the  authority  of  nations  and  the  de- 
crees of  legislatures. 

There  is  another  prophecy  of  the  Apocalypse,  where  the 
symbol  of  eating  jlesh  is  a  second  time  introduced,  which 
more  immediately  concerns  the  sceptured  tyrants  of  Europe 
themselves.  It  is  in  ch.  xix.  The  latter  part  of  it  there 
has  before  been  occasion  to  quote  and  to  explain.  It  was 
to  the  destruction  of  the  antichristian  churchy  as  established 
in  different  parts  of  the  European  world,  and  to  the  confis- 

26  Posthumous  Works  of  Frederic  II.  K.  of  Prussia,  translated  by  Mr 
Holcroft,  vol.  XII.  p.  281. 

Vo5..  11.  W 


154  CHAP.    XXVI. 

cation  of  its  revenues,  that  the  prophecy,  which  I  last 
explained,  plainly  rtferred.  The  passage  which  follows 
foretells  the  complete  destruction  of  the  antichristian  mo- 
narchies of  Europe,  and  the  confiscation  of  those  mighty 
treasures  and  immense  possessions,  which  the  antichristian 
princes  and  their  respective  partisans  have  so  diligently  ac- 
cumulated. 

Whilst  he^  whose  name  is  called  the  Word  of  God,  is  re- 
presented in  V.  15  as  treading  the  wine-press  of  the  fierce- 
ness and  wrath  of  Almighty  God;  in  verses  17  and  18,  19 
and  20,  the  prophet  says,  And  I  saxv  an  angel  standing  in 
the  sun  ;  and  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying  to  all  the 
fowls  thatfiy  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  Come  and  gather  your- 
selves together  to  the  supper  of  the  Great  God;  that  ye  may 
eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh 
of  mighty  men,and  the  flesh  of  horses,  andofthefn  that  sit  on 
them,  and  the  flesh  of  all  men,  both  free  and  bond,  both  small 
and  great.  And  I  sazv  the  beast,  aiid  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
and  their  armies,  gathered  together  to  make  war  against 
him  that  sat  on  the  horse,  and  against  his  army.  And  the 
beast  xvas  seized,  and  with  him  the  false  teacher^^,  who  shewed 
before  him  those  wonders,  by  which  he  seduced  them  that  had 
received  the  tnark  of  the  beast,  and  the  worshippers  of  his 
image:  and  both  xvere  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire.  On 
the  decorum  of  the  symbols  themselves  Dr.  Lancaster  may 
be  cited.  '  This  destruction  of  them  is  represented,  as 
a  sacriflce  to  God^s  justice,  and  as  such,  attended  with  a 
feast^ ;  it  being  the  custom  of  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  to 
feast  upon  the  flesh  of  the  victims  offered  in  sacrifice.  And 
therefore  since  their  flesh  is  to  be  eaten,  the  birds  of  prey, 
who  are  observed  to  follow  armies  and  fall  upon  the  slain, 
are  invited  to  the  feast,  which  is  called  the  great  supper  of 

27  In  the  Common  Translation  it  is  tlie  false  prophet.  A  part  of  the  last 
sentence  I  have  given,  as  translated  by  Mr.  Wakefield. 

28  '  God;having  decreed  to  destro},  and  sacrifice  to  justice,  the  beast, 
tlie  false  prophet,  and  their  obstinate  adherents,  ihev,  and  uU  they  huviy 
serve  him  to  make  up  hi-^  feast.'     Daubuz. 


CHAP.    XXVI.  IS  3 

God^  as  being  a  perfection  and  completion  of  the  judgments 
of  God.' 

To  explain,  as  some  commentators  have  done,  a  large 
part  of  the  foregoing  prophecy,  as  signifying  the  slaughter 
of  the  antichristian  princes  of  Europe^',  appears  to  me  too 
literal  an  interpretation.  It  points  not  so  much  to  their  de- 
feat as  to  the  consequences  of  that  defeat. 

The  false  prophet,  and  the  ten-horned  beast,  were 
cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fre ;  i.  e.  the  antichristian  church 
and  antichristian  monarchies  of  Europe  are  to  be  utterly 
destroyed.  At  the  same  time,  to  use  the  prophetic 
diction,  the  Jiesh  of  kings^  of  captains^  and  of  mighty 
men^  and  of  all  mefi^°^  both  free  and  bond^  both  small 
and  great^  is  to  be  eaten.  '  Here,'  says  Dr.  Lancaster, 
'•  the  destruction  of  the  beast^  and  the  false  prophet^  and  their 
adherents,  is  represented  as  a  total  destruction,  from  which 
not  so  much  as  one  of  whatever  quality  or  condition  will 
escape.'  '  But,'  says  Daubuz,  '  it  must  be  limited  to  the 
subject  in  question.'  It  is  to  be  confined  to  the  partisans 
of  civil  orof  ecclesiastical  tyranny.  They  are  the  persons, 
whose  privileges  are  to  be  sacrificed,  and  whose  power  is 
to  be  overturned. 

Any  attempt  to  explain  the  symbolic  import  of  the  fesh 
of  horses  being  eaten^  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen. 
That  it  forms  only  a  part  of  the  general  description,  and 
admits  not  of  a  separate  interpretation,  is  by  no  means  im- 
probable. A  particular  and  appropriate  explication  of  it 
would,  however,  it  must  be  admitted,  be  more  satisfactory. 
As  the  preceding  expressions  of  kings^  captains^  and  mighty 
men,  which  are  introduced  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  word 
horsesj  are,  it  is  agreed,  to  be  understood  not  symbolically, 
but  literally  ;  it  is  possible,  the  latter  expression  may  signify, 
that  those  lands  and  possessions,  which  have  hitherto  been 


f   29  That  the  prophecy  just  cited  denotes   *  literally  great  slaughter  of 
men,'  is  tlie  opinion  of  Dr.  Priestley.    Fast  Serm.  for  Feb.  28,  1794,  p.  12. 
30  It  is  proper  to  acquaint  the  reader,  that  the  word  vien  is  not  in  the 
ftriginal. 


156  CHAP.    XXVI. 

employed,  by  princes,  by  nobles,  by  the  long  line  of  their 
imitators,  and  by  all  the  various  retainers  of  a  modern 
monarchy,  for  the  maintenance  of  those  innumerable  horses, 
Avhich  serve  no  other  purpose  than  to  mount  cavalry  in  war, 
or  to  gratify  the  desires  of  vanity  and  luxurious  indolence, 
shall  be  converted  to  other  uses,  and  appropriated  to  objects 
of  solid  advantage  and  general  iitility.  Certainly  this  is 
not  an  unimportant  circumstance  to  the  happiness  of  man- 
kind. There  are  few  countries  of  Europe,  in  which  the 
subsistence  and  comforts  of  the  mass  of  the  people  are  not 
materially  affected,  and  in  which  they  are  not  rendered 
more  scanty  and  precarious,  by  the  crowds  of  horses  which 
are  unnecessarily  kept;  and  which  are  maintained  in  conse- 
quence of  the  nature  of  the  subsisting  governments,  the 
prevalence  of  false  ideas,  and  the  extreme  inequality  which 
exists  bet^veen  the  different  ranks  of  society.  Even  of 
philosophers  there  are,  I  believe,  but  few,  Avho  are  apprised 
of  the  magnitude  of  the  evil. 

All  the  Jorvls^  thatjly  in  the.  viidst  heaven^  are,  says  the 
prophet,  to  be  gathered  together  to  the  aupper  of  the  Great 
God.  '  As  birds  of  prey,'  says  Daubuz,  '  feed  upon  car- 
cases, so  those  that  take  the  goods  of  other  men  eat  as  it 
were  their  flesh  ;  which,  in  the  symbolic  language  always 
signifies  riches  or  substance.  Now  the  symbol  is  in  itself 
indifferent.  The  commission  is  that  Avhich  makes  the  act 
lawful  when  God  invites,  who  has  a  supreme  power  to  be- 
stow the  goods  of  this  world  as  he  pleases  ;  and  in  this  case 
it  is  anactof  his  justice,  but  it  is  an  evil  to  them  that  suffer  by 
it.  They  are  evil  to  them  at  least,  though  these  birds  of  prey 
be  such  as  do  well  in  accepting  God's  offer — As  heaven  signi- 
fies the  supreme  powers,'  the  fowls  thatfy  in  the  7nidst  of 
heaven  denote,  '  such  as  in  this  Revolution  are,  or  become, 
of  a  superior  condition.  Or  perhaps  all  the  princes  and 
others  who  shall  divide  the  spoils  are  onlv  reckoned  in  an 
inferior  state  and  under-governors,  because  none  is  now 
supreme.'  This  statement  of  the  accurate  Daubuz,  had  he 
employed  some  other  word,  instead  of  princes^  would,  i 


CHAP.  XXVI.  .^^ 

15/ 

believe,  have  been  perfectly  correct.  The  pnncipal  agents 
in  the  seizure  and  distribution  of  the  confiscated  property 
of  the  ten-horned  and  two  horned  beasts,  denominated  by 
the  prophet  thefoxvls  thatflij  hi  the  midst  of  heaven,  appear 
to  denote  such  persons,  as  shall  occupy  official  situations  in 
the  ncAvly-erected  governments,  though,  from  the  nature  of 
those  governments,  none  of  them  will  be  invested  with 
supreme  poAver. 

After  alleging  those  memorable  words  of  the  prophet,  in 
v.  21,  t-h^t  all  the  fowls  xuere  filed  xvkh  their  fesh,  Daubuz 
says,  '  This  Great  Revolution  must  produce  a  Great  Change 
m  the  Secular  Government,  and  Property  of  Lands,  within 
the  territories  of  corrupted  Christendom.'  That  there  has 
already  been  a  complete  change,  in  these  two  important  re- 
spects, in  the  dominions  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  horns 
of  the  Secular  beast,  every  European  is  apprised. 

I  shall  conclude  the  chapter  with  some  striking  observa- 
tions of  an  illustrous  writer.  '  If,'  says  Sir  I.  Newton, 
'  the  last  age,  the  age  of  opening  these  things,  be  now  ap- 
proaching, as  by  the  great  successes  of  late  interpreters  it 
seems  to  be,  we  have  more  encouragement  than  ever  to  look 
into  these  things.  If  the  general  preaching  of  the  gospel 
be  approaching,  it  is  to  us,  and  our  posterity,  that  those 
words  mainly  belong:  In  the  time  of  the  end  the  raise  shall 
understand,  but  none  of  the  rvicked  shall  understand.  Blessed 
is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear^^  the  words  of  this  pro- 

phecij,  and  keep  those  thiiigs  which  arc  xvritten  thereiji^^ 

As  the  few  and  obscure  prophecies  concerning  Christ's  first 
coming-  were  for  setting  up  the  Christian  religion,  which  ail 
NATIONS  HAVE  SINCE  CORRUPTED:  SO  the  many  and  clear 
prophecies,  concerning  the  things  to  be  done  at  Chrisfs 
second  coming,  are  not  only  for  predicting,  but  also  for 
EFFECTING,  a  Fccovery  and  re-establishment  of  the  long, 
lost  truth,  and  setting-up  a  kingdom  wherein  dxvells  righte- 

31  i.  c.  Saj-s  Vitringa.,f/,.v  un./.rstanr/.  This,  i.idecd,  is  a  frequent  sense 
"2  Apoc,  i.  " 


loB  .   CHAP.    XXVI. 

ousness.  The  event  will  prove  the  Apocalypse ;  and  this 
prophecy,  thus  proved  and  understood,  will  open  the  old 
prophets,  and  all  together  will  make  known  the  true  religion, 
and  establish  it.  For  he  that  will  understand  the  old  pro- 
phets must  begin  with  this ;  but  the  time  is  not  yet  come  for 
understanding  them  perfectly,  because  the  main  revo- 
lution, predicted  in  them,  is  not  yet  come  to  pass.  In  the 
days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh  ang-el,  when  he  shall  begin 
to  sound^  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished^  as  he  hath  de- 
clared to  his  servants  the  prophets :  and  then  the  kingdoms  of 
this  xvorld  shall  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  his 
Christy  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever^  Apoc.  x.  7;  xi.  15. 
There  is  already  so  much  of  the  prophecy  fulfilled,  that  as 
many  as  will  take  pains  in  this  study  may  see  sufficient  in- 
stances of  God's  providence :  but  then  the  signal  Revolu- 
tions, predicted  by  all  the  holy  prophets,  will  at  once  both 
turn  men's  eyes  upon  considering  the  predictions,  and 
plainly  interpret  them".' 

His  first  chapter  on  the  Apocalypse  Sir  I.  Newton  con- 
cludes with  the  following  observation:  '•  Among  the  inter- 
preters of  the  last  age,  there  is  scarce  one  of  note,  who  hath 
not  made  some  discovery  worth  knowing ;  and  thence  I  seem 
to  gather,  that  God  is  about  opening  these  mysteries^*.' 

33  P.  251,  252-  Like  Sir  I.  Newton,  Jurieu  is  disposed  to  believe,  that 
the  Deity  may  think  proper  '  at  last  to  make  the  prophecies  be  understood, 
that  they  may  tlie  more  easily  be  fulfilled.  See  Suppl.  to  the  introd.  of 
Jurieu ;  and  vol.  II.  p.  39. 

34  This  observation  is  adopted  by  bishop  Law  (in  his  Theory  nj  Seligion, 
3d  ed.  p.  170)  ;  and  not  unsimilar  is  the  language  of  another  learned  and 
liberal  prelate,  '  Though  the  name  has  been  disgraced  by  a  number  of 
hireling  compilers,  yet  no  competent  critic  has,'  says  bp.  Newcome,  'care- 
fully studied  the  scriptures  for  himself,  without  smoothing  tlie  ruggedness 
of  the  way  to  those  who  follow  him/  Vers,  of  the  Twelve  Minor  Pro- 
phets, pref  p.  9. 


CHAP.  XXVII.  1$9 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

•N    THE    LATTER    PART  OF  THE  PROPHiECY  OF  JESUS,  RECORDED 
IN    THE    TWENTY-FIRST    CHAPTER   OF    LUKE. 

A  MEMORABLE  passage  In  the  invaluable  pro- 
phecy of  Jesus,  delivered  by  him  on  the  mount  of  Olives 
a  short  time  before  his  crucifixion,  has  been  explained'  ; 
and  it  has  been  seen,  that  its  symbolic  import  is  scarcely 
darkened  by  any  degree  of  doubt  or  ambiguity.  But  it  is 
not  sufficient  that  its  meaning  be  ascertained.  That  of  the 
eontext  ought  also  to  be  examined  into  j  and  the  result  of 
the  enquiry,  I  apprehend,  will  be,  not  merely  that  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  verse  alluded  to  perfectly  harmonises  with 
the  context,  but  that  it  is  the  only  one  which  does.  In 
truth,  the  common  explications  of  our  Lord's  prophecy 
labor  under  insuperable  difficulties ;  and  Dr.  John  Edwards, 
an  orthodox  clergyman,  who  flourished  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  last  and  the  commencement  of  the  present  century, 
accordingly  observes,  that  he  had  never  met  with  any  ex- 
positor, '  that  gave  a  clear  and  satisfactory  account  of  it^' 
Another  Dr.  Edwards,  a  clergyman  of  a  different  period 
and  different  principles,  speaking  of  the  xxivth  ch.  of  Mat- 
thew, says,  '  the  various  and  opposite  methods,  which  theo- 
logians have  adopted  to  remove  an  objection  which  is  too 
obvious  to  be  overlooked,  form,  it  must  be  confessed,  a 
very  considerable  presumption,  that  an  adequate  solution  of 
the  difficulty^  has  not  hitherto  been  discovered,  and  that  the 
objection  is  founded  on  the  basis  of  truth.  Some  inter- 
preters imagine  that  the  prophecy  relates  entirely  to  the 

1  In  chaptei"  xxii. 

2  TJieologia  Eefonnata,  1713,  fol.  vol  I.  p.  471- 

3  Of  the  particular  difficulty  to  which  Dr  Edwards  alludes  iwrtice  will 
hereafter  be  taken. 


160  CHAP.    XXVII* 

ruin  of  the  Jewish  nation :  others,  by  the  convenient  in- 
troduction of  types  and  double  senses,  preserve  in  it  a 
reference  throughout  to  the  consummation  of  all  things : 
some  have  contended  that  it  partly  belongs  to  the  former, 
and  partly  to  the  latter ;  but  what  portions  of  it  are  appli- 
cable to  the  one,  and  what  to  the  other,  they  cannot  ascer- 
tain :  while  a  few  have  ventured  to  assert,  that  it  represents 
the  final  judgment  as  immediately  subsequent  to  the  Jewish 
calamities*.'  The  different  modes  of  explaining  our  Loi'd's 
prophecy  Dr.  Edwards  here  professes  to  state.  But  there 
is  another  method  of  explication,  of  which  this  learned 
writer  appears  to  be  entirely  ignorant ;  a  method  which  has 
not,  indeed,  been  adopted,  or  even  been  noticed,  in  any  of 
the  commentaries  on  the  Gospels  which  this  country  has 
produced',  but  which  I  nevertheless  believe  to  be  the  true 
one. 

That  the  prophecy  of  Jesus  is  of  very  difficult  interpre- 
tation is  very  generally  Admitted.  Grotius  and  Lowth, 
Sykes,  Benson,  and  Macknight,  bp.  Watson  and  the  Tay- 
lors, .have,  Mr.  Nisbitt  acknowleges^  (he  is  here  speaking 
of  the  scripture-doctrine  of  the  Coming  of  Christ)^  '  all  of 
them,  without  exception,  manifestly  discovered  their  em- 
barrassment, and  the  difficulties  which  they  labored  under, 
in  considering  the  subject.'  Surely  this  affords  a  strong 
presumption,  that  they  have  all  failed  of  discovering  the 
true  import  of  Christ's  celebrated  prediction.  To  attempt 
to  develope  its  meaning,  after  this  declaration,  may,  per- 
haps, appear  bold  and  presuming.     But  however  desirable 

4  Serm.  on  the  Predictions  of  the  Apostles  concerning  the  End  of  the 
World,  1790,  p.  18. 

5  Accordingly,  when  I  first  applied  the  latter  part  of  the  prophecy  of 
Christ  to  the  downfal  of  antichristian  usurpation,  and  particularly  that 
verse  in  it,  which  has  been  so  copiously  explained  in  ch.  xxii.  like  Dr.  Ed- 
wards, I  knew  not  that  this  application  of  it  had  received  any  countenance 
from  preceding-  wi'iters,  being  led  to  it  solely  by  my  knowlege  of  the  im- 
port of  our  Lord's  svTnbols,  and  the  internal  evidence  which  appeared  fti-' 
r;nibracing  the  interpretation. 

6  Scripture  Doctrine  concerning  the  Coming  of  Christ,  p.  13. 


CHAP.  XXVII-  16i 

it  may  be  to  be  exempt  from  the  charge  ;  1  do  not  conceive, 
that  it  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to  command  silence,  or  that 
the  publication  of  important  truths,  or  of  probable  conclu- 
sions, ought,  in  any  case,  to  be  suppressed  from  the  appre- 
hension of  it. 

As  the  prophecy  of  Christ  was  a  reply  to  a  question,  the 
scope  of  that  question  it  will  be  proper  to  state.  It  is  in 
the  Gospel  of  Matthew  that  it  is  given  at  the  greatest 
length.  Jesus  having  assured  his  disciples  (xxiv.  2i)  that 
the  time  would  arrive,  when  not  one  stone  of  the  temple 
would  be  left  upon  another ;  they  came  to  him  (v.  3.).  say- 
ings Tell  us^  ivhen  shall  these  things  be?  and  what  shall 
be  the  sign  of  thy  comings  and  of  the  end  of  the  xvorW s 

7  The  word  luorld  is  given  up  by  the  majority  of  English  commentators 
as  an  improper  rendering;  and,  in  the  Latin  versions  of  Jerom,  Erasmus, 
Beza,  and  Montanus,  oiiaivoi  is  translated  not  inimdi,  but  seculi.  '  A.tu)i^ 
says  Mr.  Waple  (On  the  Rev.  p.  248),  *  signifies  an  age  of  the  world  or 
soine  eminent  period  of  it ;'  and  in  correspondence  with  this  Dr.  Hammond 
observes  (on  Luke.  i.  70),  that  in  the  New  Testament  it  *  most  commonly 
is  used  in  a  general  sense,  not  for  the  age  of  a  man,  nor  again  for  an  hun- 
dred years,  but  for  an  age  of  the  world,  or  some  eminent  part  in  the  divi= 
sion  of  that.'  '  Sometimes,'  says  Leigh  in  his  Critica  Sacra,  'it  is  put  for 
that  which  continues  a  long  time,  and  of  which  the  end  is  not  so  clear  ; 
and  this  appears  to  be  the  exact  meaning,  which  the  disciples  here  an- 
nexed to  the  word.  They  enquired  what  would  be  the  signs  of  the 
TvvTiXeiet  T«  dimoi,  at  the  expiration  of  which  another  «<»v,  or  eminent 
period,  was  to  commence  ;  and  accordinglj',  in  the  writings  of  the  father* 
(see  Suicei'us),  the  word  xim  frequently  stood  for  this  last  period,  that  is  to 
say  for  the  Thousand  Years.  In  an  ancient  work,  the  book  of  Tobit  (xiv. 
5.),  Mm  appears  manifestly  to  si^xn^y  the  Jirst  of  these  great  periods,  namely, 
that  which  is  to  continue  till  the  commencement  of  the  millennium  ;  for  it 
is  there  said  of  the  Jews,  that  when  the  times  of  the  period  are  fulfilled 
(TTAtipuB-uin  Kotipot  ra  ectmoq  are  the  v/ords  of  the  Septuagint),  that  they  shall 
return  from  all  places  of  their  captivity.  In  Isaiah,  on  the  contrary,  ch.  Ixv. 
18,  the  expression,  the  age  to  come,  signifies  the  second  of  these  long  periods^ 
namely,  the  millennium  ;  for  when  speaking  of  the  future  restoration  of 
the  Jews  to  their  own  land,  he  says  (according  to  the  amended  versions  of 
bishop  Lowth  and  Mr,  Dodson),  but  ye  shall  rejoice  and  exult  in  the  age  to 
eoine.  To  v.  6  of  ch.  ix.  of  Isaiah  reference  also  deserves  to  be  made  ;  for 
in  that  verse,  according  to  the  best  copies  of  the  S.eptuagint,  and  agree- 
ably to  the  existing  Hebrew  text,  Christ  is  called  warjjp  m  ntfA/avTej  ettmoi* 

Vol.  II.  X 


16S  CHAP.  XXVIi» 

or,  as  it  ought  rather  to  be  rendered,  of  the  end  of  the  pe- 
riod^ i.  e.  the  period  then  present?  Dr.  Campbell's  trans- 
lation is.  What  xvill  be  the  sign  of  thy  comings  and  of  the 
conclusion  of  this  state? 

The  question  of  the  disciples  was  two-fold:  and  its  im- 
port, when  shall  that  destruction  of  the  temple  which  you 
mention  happen ;  and  what  are  the  indications  of  thy  com- 
ing, which  Daniel  foretells,  and  of  the  end  of  the  present 
sera,  when  that  coming  is  to  take  place? 

The  latter  part  of  the  question,  as  paraphrased  by  the 
great  Dr.  Clarke,  strictly  answers  to  my  ideas.  '  And  by 
what  signs  shall  we  know,  when  the  consummation  of  the 
present  state  of  things  in  the  world  shall  be  ?  And  when, 
and  by  what  Revolutions,  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah 
shall  be  established  ?' 

Supposing  we  had  no  positive  information  on  the  subject, 
it  might  fairly  be  presumed,  that  the  remarkable  prophecies 
of  Daniel,  relative  to  the  erection  of  the  proper  kingdom 
of  the  Messiah,  were  familiar  to  the  minds  of  the  apostles. 
That  they  should  be  solicitous  respecting  their  fulfilment, 
and   should  make   enquiries  respecting  them,  though  far 

— "^ 

the  Father  of  the  future  period.  In  like  manner,  in  the  Vulgate,  it  is 
Pater futuri  secuU.  See  Mr.  Dodson's  valuable  Translation  of  Lsaiah,  and 
his  elaborate  note  on  this  verse. 

In  the  Targum  on  Kings  the  period  of  the  Messiah  is  denominated  the 
age  to  come;  and  says  bishop  Kidder,  •  among  the  other  Jewish  wi-itersf 
nothing  is  more  common  than  to  call  the  times  of  tlie  Messiali,  the  Olavi 
Hava^  i.  e-  0  a'ft'v  fM}A?u<>u,  or  the  age  to  come.  Demonstr.  of  the  Messiah, 
rol.  III.  p.  381.  I  close  the  note  with  a  quotation  from  Dr.  Thomas  Bur- 
net. •  The  expression,  xim  (miXXuv,  is  either  taken  largely  for  the  times  of 
the  Messiah  in  general,  or  tnore  particularly  for  the  times  of  the  Messiah's 
reign.  In  this  last  confined  and  viore  proper  sense  it  is  distinct  both  from 
the  present  age  and  from  eternity,  or  that  time,  when  Christ  is  to  deliver 
up  all  dominion  into  the  hands  of  the  Father.'  1  Cor,  xv.  24.  28.  .  *  And 
in  this  proper  sense,  viz.  taken  for  some  age  between  this  present  and 
eternity,  it  is  often  used  in  scripture.  Christ,  it  is  said,  will  reign  ev  T<a 
uimi  (tteAAavr*.'  Ephes.  i.  22,  23.  On  the  State  of  Departed  Souls,  p.  282. 
See  some  similar  observations  in  Dr.  J.  Edward's  Hist,  of  the  Dispensations 
of  Rel.  vol.  II.  p.  64L 


CHAP.  XXVII.  '  163 

from  being  distinctly  apprised  of  their  meaning,  need,  there- 
fore excite  no  surprise.  This,  however,  is  a  matter  not 
only  of  antecedent  likelihood,  but  of  certainty.  The  Gos- 
pel-narratives amply  attest,  that  there  was,  in  fact,  no  sub- 
ject respecting  Avhich  they  were  more  curious,  no  point 
respecting  which  they  were  more  frequent  in  their  enqui- 
ries, than  the  period,  when  the  proper  kingdom  of  the 
Messiah  should  be  established,  as  foretold  by  the  Hebrew 
prophet.  Besides,  says  Dr.  Sykes  on  this  verse,  '  that  they 
meant  his  comings  as  Daniel  had  prophesied  of  the  Mes- 
siah, is  plain  from  hence  ;  that  when  our  Lord  answers  the 
question,  he  uses  the  very  words  of  the  prophet,  v.  30^' 
And  since  this  judicious  divine  has  elsewhere  shewn',  that 
wherever  Christ  employs  either  of  those  expressions  the 
Kingdom  of  God^  or  the  So7i  of  Man,  he  had  an  immediate 
view  to  Daniel's  prophecy  of  his  universal  kingdom,  and 
borrowed  the  expressions  from  him ;  and  since  our  Lord, 
in  his  prophecy*",  has  adopted  both  these  expressions :  it 
cannot,  I  think,  reasonably  be  doubted,  that  he  spoke  of  the 
very  same  events  with  the  ancient  Hebrew  prophet.  Now 
from  the  observations  already  made  upon  his  predictions, 
and  from  those  reserved  for  ch.  xxx,  it  will,  I  trust,  clearly 
appear,  that  the  coming'  of  Christ,  which  Daniel  assures  us 
shall  take  place  quickly  after  the  overthrow  of  the  anti 
christian  monarchies,  is  the  commencement  of  that  happy 
aera,  commonly  denominated  the  millennium. 

That  the  latter  part  of  Christ's  prophecy  does  foretell 
the  commencement  of  that  auspicious  period,  appeared  pro- 
bable on  various  accounts  to  Wolzogenius,  who  was  among 
the  first  of  those  who  framed  a  judicious  exposition  of  the 
Evangelists :  but,  fearful  of  departing  from  the  general 
current  of  interpreters,  he  appears  to  have  been  embarrassed 
with  doubts,  and  ventured  not  to  decide  in  the  affirmative". 

8  Upon  the  Truth  of  Chr.  p.  86. 

9  P.  72,  79,  85,  115. 

10  Mat.  xxiv.  30,  39  ;  Luke,  xxi.  27,  31. 

11  See  his  notes  on  Mat.  xxiv.  3,  29,  30,  31,  35.  Ludovicus  Wolzo- 
genius  was  a  nobleman  of  Austria,  very  ujilike  the  generality  of  liis  own 


164  CHAP.  XXVII. 

On  the  mind  of  Brenius,  however,  the  disciple  of  the  cele- 
brated Episcopius,  who  lived  about  the  same  time,  and 
whose  works  frequently  accompany  those  of  Wolzogenius, 
no  doubts  remained,  that  the  words  of  our  Lord  are  thus 
to  be  interpreted.  But  the  ideas  of  this  eminent  commen- 
tator will  be  best  explained  by  a  quotation  from  him.  '  I-t 
is,'  says  Brenius,  '  not  difficult  to  gain  information  of  what 
the  disciples  understood  by  tlie  coming  of  Christy  provided 
we  shall  have  considered  the  hope  entertained  by  the  Jews 
respecting  the  Messiah,  which  was  then  generally  preva- 
lent, namely,  that  it  was  incumbent  on  him  to  restore  upon 
earth  the  fallen  kingdom  of  Israel,  to  establish  the  throne 
of  David,  so  as  never  to  be  shaken,  and  to  bring  deliverance 
to  them  without  exception  from  all  their  enemies.  Hence 
that  speech  of  the  disciples  travelling  to  Emmaus,  but  we 
trusted  that  it  had  been  he  xvhich  should  have  redeemed  Israel* 
Luke  xxiv.  21.  Wherefore  it  is  true,  that  by  the  coming 
of  Christ  also  in  this  place  the  apostles  understood  nothing 
else  than  the  glorious  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  to  be  erected 
upon  earth,  as  others  also  have  remarked  before  us.  But 
this  in  scripture  is  elsewhere  entitled  the  kingdom  of  Gody 
concerning  which  all  the  prophets  have  predicted,  and  con- 
cerning the  establishment  of  which  his  disciples  asked  their 
master,  after  he  was  risen  from  the  dead,  whether  he  would 
at  that  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel^'^.—By  the 
end  of  the  age  then  the  disciples  do  not  understand  the  dis- 
solution of  heaven  and  earth,  but  the  destruction  of  the 
monarchies  of  the  world,  which  had  been  first  exhibited  in 
a  dream  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  afterwards  to  Daniel ; 
for  likewise  in  Isaiah,  ch.  Ixv.  17,  Ixvi.  22.  God  is  intro- 
duced speaking  thus  of  these  times,  Behold^  I  create  nert> 
heavens  and  a  new  earth :  and  the  former  shall  not  be  remem-^ 

rank,  now  belonging  to  that  country,  as  he  wielded  not  the  sword  but  the 
pen,  acquired  not  military  but  theological  glory,  and  was  pei-petually  re- 
commending the  practice  ^d  cultivation  of  the  mild  and  pacific  \-irtues  o( 
iphristianity, 
^?  Acts,  i.  3,  6,  7. 


CHAP.    XXVII.  165 

hered^  nor  cane  into  fnind.  But  they  expected  that  this 
revolution  in  the  monarchies,  according  to  the  prophecies 
which  are  extant  Dan.  ii.  and  vii,  would  happen  at  the  same 
time  with  the  coming  of  the  Messiah^  upon  whose  entrance 
into  his  kingdom  he  Avould  restore  rule  to  Israel.'  They 
thought  also,  that  the  subversion  of  the  temple,  and  the 
proper  establishment  of  Christ's  kingdom,  would  be  con- 
temporary. '  Which  two  things  it  is  incumbent  on  us  to 
separate :  for  although  the  disciples,  as  was  before  said, 
thought  that  all  these  things  would  occur  at  one  and  the  same 
time,  yet  the  event  itself  has  taught  us  the  contrary  ;  since 
the  demolition  of  the  temple  and  city  has  now  long  ago 
happened,  whilst  the  coming-  of  Christ  is  not  yet  accom- 
plished. And  in  consequence  of  this,  our  Lord  gives  a 
distinct  answer  to  each  question.' 

We  may,  says  Dr.  Lardner,  readily  admit  the  truth  of 
what  Josephus  says, — "  that  what  principally  excited  the 
Jewish  people,  the  wise  men,"  as  he  calls  them,  "  as  well  as 
others,  to  the  war  with  the  Romans,  was  the  expectation  of 
a  great  deliverer  to  arise  among  them,  who  should  obtain 
the  empire  of  the  world."  Indeed,  '  the  expectation  of 
the  coming  of  the  Messiiih,  about  the  time  of  the  appear- 
ance of  Jesus  was  universal,  and  had  been  so  for  some 
while.  But  with  the  idea  of  a  prophet,  or  extraordinary 
teacher  of  religion,  they  had  joined  also  that  of  a  worldly 
king  and  conqueror,  who  should  deliver  the  Jewish  people 
from  the  burdens  under  which  they  labored,  raise  them  to 
a  state  of  independence,  and  bring  the  nations  of  the  earth 
into  subjection  to  them,  to  be  ruled  and  tyrannised  over  by 
them.'  If  our  Lord  '  would  but  have  assumed  the  state 
and  character  of  an  earthly  prince,  scribes  and  pharisees, 
priests  and  people,  would  all  have  joined  themselves  to  him, 
and  have  put  themselves  under  his  banner.  Of  this  we 
see  many  proofs  in  the  gospels'^' 

13  Lardner's  works,  vol.  vii.  59.  Similar  is  the  statement  of  Dr.  Sykes- 
'  It  is  evident,'  says  he,  '  that  the  opinion  was  fixed  and  settled,  and 
g'enerally  received  among-  the  Jews,  that  somebody  of  their  nation  was  to 


165  CHAP.    XXVII. 

The  reader  who  has  attended  to  Daniel's  prophecy  of  the 
destruction  of  the  fourth  beast,  or  the  Roman  empire  in  the 
concluding  period  of  its  existence,  and  who  recollects,  that 
the  prophet  has  not  specified  the  time  when  that  event  was 
to  take  place,  will  experience  little  difficulty  in  accounting 
for  the  erroneous  opinion,  which  the  disciples  had  formed 
respecting  the  period^  when  that  empire  should  irrecoverably 
fall,  and  be  succeeded  by  the  proper  kingdom  of  Messiah. 
That  they  understood  the  fourth  beast  to  be  the  Roman 
empire,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt.  That  it  was  thus  in- 
terpreted by  the  ancients  in  general'*.  Dr.  Cressener  has 
asserted  and  proved.  A  very  small  portion  of  what  he  has 
urged  on  this  subject  I  shall  now  cite.  '  Rabbi  Abarbinel's 
testimony  is  sufficient  for  the  consent  of  the  Jewish  writers, 
being  known  to  be  one  of  the  most  learned  of  their  nation. 
"  Our  masters  (says  he,)  are  right  in  their  tradition,  that 
the  fourth  beast  does  signify  the  Roman  emperors  ;"  where- 
by it  appears  to  have  been  the  common  tradition  of  the 
learned  Jews".'  That  this  was  the  opinion  of  the  Jewish 
church  both  before  and  after  the  time  of  Christ,  is  par- 
ticularly noted  by  the  learned  Calovius'^. 

It  may,  however,  be  remarked,  that  the  answer  of  Jesus 
to  the  enquiry  of  his  disciples  was  well  adapted  to  rectify 
their  mistakes.  For  he  informed  them,  that  the  capital  of 
their  country,  instead  of  being  speedily  emancipated  from 
a  foreign  yoke,  would  be  besieged  and  desolated,  and  con- 
tinue to  be  trodden  down  by  the  Gentiles;  and  that  the  proper 
kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  which  is  so  magnificently  de- 
scribed by  the  prophet  Daniel,  so  far  from  being  immedi- 
ately erected,  as  they  apprehended,  would  not  be  established, 


wet  an  universal  dominion:  it  is  testified  on  all  sides  by  Heathens  and  Jews, 
as  well  as  Christians,  and  consequently  cannot  be  denied.'  On  the  Tr.  of 
the  Chr.  Ret.  p.  11. 

14  On  this  point  the  reader  may  look  back  to  vol   II.  p.  9,  10,  of  the 
present  w^ork. 

15  Dem.  of  the  Prot.  Appl.  of  tlae  Apoc.  Append,  p.  5.- 
15  In  Dan.  cap.  7. 


CHAP.  XXVII.  167 

till  wars,  and  a  long  series  of  calamitous  events,  had  ante- 
cedently occurred. 

It  is  proper  to  observe,  that  Dr.  Sykes  has  satisfactorily 
shewn  (the  matter,  indeed,  admits  not  of  dispute),  that  what 
ourLoi'd  addresses  to  his  auditors,  in  the  second  person,  is 
not  on  that  account  exclusively  to  be  referred  to  them,  or  to 
the  men  of  that  generation.  Thus,  after  his  resurrection, 
Christ  said,  '  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations, — teach- 
ing them  to  observe  -whatsoever  I  have  commanded  Yois  :  a7id, 
lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  U7ito  the  end  of  the  xvorW^. 
Here  it  is  evident,  that  a  promise  is  made  which  was  to  ex- 
tend to  the  end  of  the  world'^ ;  and  since  the  apostles  have 
been  long  since  dead,  it  is  evident,  that,  under  the  terms  ye 
and  YOU,  must  be  contained  all,  at  all  times,  in  like  circum- 
stances''.' In  the  xiiith  ch.  of  Mark  (v.  37)  our  Lord  has, 
indeed,  himself  in  some  degree  given  us  intimation  of  this. 
And  what  I  say  unto  you,  I  say  unto  all,  Watch.  This  Dod- 
dridge thus  paraphrases:  what  I  say  to  you  in  public 
characters,  I  say  to  all  my  disciples,  in  every  station  of  life, 
and  in  every  age,  watch.' 

Parallel  to  the  xxivth  chapter  of  Matthew,  and  the  xiiith 
of  Mark,  is  the  xxist  chapter  of  Luke.  In  that  chapter 
from  V.  8,  to  v.  24,  is  a  prediction^",  eminently  minute  and 
circumstantial,  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  of  the 
sufferings  of  Christ's  followers.  To  his  disciples  it  accord- 
ingly appears  to  have  been  addressed  by  him,  as  sustaining 


17  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 

18  It  may,  however,  be  proper  to  remark,  tliat  the  word  emplojed  is 
etiuy. 

19  Sykes  on  tlie  Tr.  of  the  Chr.  Rel.  p.  88.  To  tlie  same  purpose  spcxiks 
bp.  Newcome  (Obs.  on  our  Lord's  Conduct  as  a  Div.  Instr.  p.  263).  ♦  What 
our  Lord  said  to  his  immediate  followers  may  be  well  considered  as  ad- 
dressed to  all  mankind.' 

20  On  this  prophecy  and  the  evidences  of  its  fulfilment,  Whitby  and 
Jortin,  Lardner,  Mackniglit,  and  l^p.  Newton,  have  all  treated  at  great 
length.  See  also  the  briefer  but  Valuable  observations  of  bishop  Hurd 
^ol.  I  p.  163—172),  and  archdeacon  Paley  (E\ id.  of  Chi-.  24  ed.  vol.  XL 
p.  16—23.) 


16B  CHAP.    XXV If i 

the  character  both  of  Christians  and  oi  Jews  ;  and  it  must 
be  remembered,  in  the  explication  of  the  subsequent  part 
of  the  prophecy,  that  he  still  pursues  the  same  course,  and 
that  his  auditors  are  viewed  in  this  double  light.  In  v.  24, 
he  does,  however,  speak  in  the  third  person  and  of  the 
Jews  alone  :  they  shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the  sword;  and 
shall  be  led  away  captive  into  all  nations ;  and  f  erusalem 
shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles^  until  the  times  of  the 
Gentiles  be  fulflled.  Most  commentators  agree,  that  he 
speaks  here  of  two  distinct  periods.  The  first  principally- 
respected  the  great  slaughter  of  the  Jews  under  the  Ro- 
mans, and  the  calamities  they  were  to  incur  from  the  de- 
struction of  their  city:  the  second  extended  to  the  whole 
period  of  their  dispersion  in  the  nations  of  the  world.  Here 
then  it  is  that  he  makes  his  transition,  in  the  very  place 
where  we  should  expect  it;  and  commences  his  reply  to  the 
second  question  of  his  disciples. 

It  is  this  second  grand  division  of  the  prophecy  which  is 
now  to  be  considered.  As  it  proceeds  from  the  very  highest 
authority ;  as  it  respects  the  most  important  events,  and 
events  which  are  all  yet  unfulfilled,  though  some  of  them 
probably  may  not  be  far  distant ;  as  it  opens  to  our  view  a 
new  order  of  things,  when  the  world  shall  be  as  it  were 
renovated,  and  true  religion  shall  reign  upon  the  earth ;  it 
surely  deserves  our  most  careful  inspection.  Any  passage 
of  the  same  length,  having  stronger  claims  on  our  atten- 
tion, it  would  in  truth  be  impossible  to  allege.  The  whole 
of  it  ought,  therefore,  to  be  viewed  together;  and  accord- 
ingly it  shall  be  first  transcribed,  without  omission,  and 
without  comment.  Luke's  account,  on  several  important 
points,  is  more  full  and  complete  than  the  parallel  place  in 
Matthew  and  in  Mark.  From  him,  therefore,  it  shall  be 
taken.     It  reaches  from  the  beginning  of  v.  25,  to  v.  35. 

As  our  Lord  had  predicted,  at  the  close  of  v.  24,  that 
Jerusalem  should  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled;  it  seems  natural  to  con- 
clude, and  the  contents  of  the  prophecy  itself  will  warrant 
the  conclusion,   that,  in  the  verses  which  follow,  he  was 


CHAP.  Xxvii.  109 

going  to  point  out  thoae  momentous  events,  which  are  to 
take  place,  when  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  ^\'&  fulfilled ;  or, 
in  other  words,  when  the  long  sera  of  spurious  Christians, 
of  adulterated  religion,  and  of  corrupt  government,  which 
have  now  subsisted  during  the  revolution  of  so  many  cen- 
turies, shall  be  destined  to  terminate".  In  truth,  had  an 
important  particle  which  immediately  follows  been  correctly 
rendered  in  our  common  version,  it  would  have  struck  the 
reader  at  the  first  sight,  as  a  matter  not  disputable,  but  clear 
and  decided,  that  this  most  illustrious  or  the  prophets  has, 
in  the  succeeding  passage,  predicted  the  changes,  which  are 
to  be  accomplished  when*  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  shall 
expire. 

yerusalem  shall  le  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles^  until  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled.  Then  shall  there  be  signs 
in  the  sun^  and  in  the  rnoon^  and  in  ihe  stars;  and  upon  the 
earth  distress  of  nations,  with  perplexity  ;  the  sea  and  the 


21  The  former  part  of  the  prophecy,  in  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Clarte,  as 
well  as  of  Vitrin^a,  is  not  confined  to  the  sutieiing's  of  the  Jews  and  the 
destruction  of  their  capital,  but  has  an  express  reference  to  the  subsequent 
spread  ofantichristianism,  and  to  the  heavy  calamities  which  should  afHict 
the  Christian  world.  In  the  xxi\th  ch.  of  Matthew,  says  this  distinguished 
Eng-iish  divine,  •  our  Lord,  in  answer  to  the  question  put  to  him  by  his 
disciples,  gives  them  a  large  prophetic  description  of  the  destruction  of 
ihe  city  and  nation  of  the  Jews,  by  the  power  of  the  Romans  :  and  a  long 
series  of  other  events. — Our  Lord  tells  them,  that  not  only  the  city  and 
temple  of  Jerusalem  should  be  desU-oyed,  and  the  Jewish  nation  dis- 
persed ;  but  that,  after  this,  there  should  still  succeed  a  long  train  of 
calamities,  and  tlie  end  should  not  be  yet.  For  Jerusalem  should  be  trod- 
den down  of  the  Gentiles,  till  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled.  And  daring 
that  long  period  of  time,  in  other  parts  of  the  world  likewise,  nation 
should  )isc  against  nation,  and  kingdom,  against  J.ingdom  ;  and  tlwre  sliould  be 
famines  and  pestilences  and  earthquakes  in  divers  places,  and  that  even  all  these 
calamities,  comparatively  speaking,  should  be  but  the  beginning  of  sorroius. 
For  a  deluge  of  corruption  and  iniquity  should  overspi-ead  the  world.  And 
there  should  be  very  great  and  very  long  persecutions :  and  a  time  of  ti  ibula- 
tion,  such  as  had  not  been  since  the  beginning  of  the  world.'  See  Mat.  xxiv. 
7,9,  10,  12,  14,  21.  Seventeen  Sermons  on  Several  Occasions,  by  Dr.  S.  Clai-ke, 
1724,  p.  378,  382.  On  this  subject  the  reader  also  may  look  back  to 
vol.  II.  p.  41,  of  the  present  work. 

Vol.  II.  Y 


170    ,  CHAP.  XXVII. 

waves  roaring :  mens  hearts  failing  them  for  fear ^  and  for 
looking  after  those  things  which  are  coming  on  the  earthy 
for  the  powers  of  heaven  shall  be  shake?!.  And  then^^  shall 
they  see  the  son  of  man  coyning  in  a  cloud  zvith  power  and 
great  glory.  Andxvhen  these  things  begin  to  cotne  to  pasSy 
THEN  look  iip^  and  lift  up  your  heads  ;  for  your  redemption 
drarveth  nigh.  And  he  spake  to  them  a  parable ;  Behold 
the  fig  trecy  and  all  the  trees  ;  when  they  now  shoot  forth^ 
ye  see  and  knorv  of  your  onmsehes  that  summer  is  notv  at 
hand.  So  likeruise  ye^  when  ye  see  these  things  com.e  to  pass, 
knoxv  ye  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  nigh  at  hand.  Verily 
I  say  unto  youy  this  generation  shall  not  pass  away.,  till  all 
be  fulfilled.  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away:  but  niy 
word  shall  not  pass  away.  And  take  heed  to  yourselves^  lest 
at  any  time  your  hearts  be  overcharged  with  surfeiting  and 
drunkenness  and  cares  of  this  life,  and  so  that  day  co7ne 
upo?i  you  unaxvares.  For  as  a  snare  shall  it  come  on  all 
them  that  dxvell  on  the  face  of  the  xvhole  earth. 

In  this  long  passage  I  have,  in  a  single  instan/;e,  deviated 
from  the  English  version.  An  alteration,  introduced  by 
Mr.  Wakefield  into  his  valuable  translation,  I  have  adopted 
as  clearly  a  right  one  ;  substituting  the  words  then  shall 
there  be  signs'^^,  instead  of  and  there  shall  be  signs. 

22  Tere,  then,  i.  e.  *  after  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  are  fulfilled.'  Gro- 
tius  in  loc. 

23  There  seems  little  reason  for  doubting-,  tliat  our  Lord  in  speaking 
used  vau,  which  corresponds  to  ««<  in  the  Greek.  Now  such  is  the  fre- 
quency with  which  vau  sig-niiies  tlien  in  the  Hebrew  bible,  that  no  less  than 
two  or  three  hundi'ed  instances  of  it  are  specified  in  tlie  concordance  of 
Noldins. 

After  this  note  was  written,  I  was  gratified  by  meeting'  witli  a  coinci- 
dence of  opinion  hi  the  works  of  Mede.  This  passage  he  twice  quotes 
(p.  910,  920)  in  the  same  manner  as  translated  by  Mr.  Wakefield ;  and  in 
one  of  his  letters  says,  '  the  copulative  x«<  verse  25,  k«<  fr«<  o-tin.etx,  &c 
is  to  be  taken  after  the  Hebrew  manner  oniinative,  for  tufn,  deimle,  which 
you  know  is  frequent  in  scripture,  then  shall  be  signs.'' 

It  is  in  conformity  to  this  ti-anslation,  tliat  St.  Mark  says,  in  the  parallel 
place  (xiii.  24),  in  those  days,  after  that  tribulatien,  the  sun  shall  be  darkenedy 


CHAP.    XXVII.  1/1 

Then  shall  there  be  signs  in  the  siiriy  and  in  the  moon^  and 
in  the  stars.  Already  has  the  parallel  verse  in  Matthew 
been  carefully  considered^;  and,  being  larger  and  more 
distinct,  it  throws  a  light  upon  the  import  of  this  briefer 
passage.  The  meaning  of  the  Greek  word,  translated  signs, 
no  single  word  in  our  language  is  capable  of  conveying. 
Xtif*.siov  signifies  any  thing  which  happens  contrary  to  the 
usual  course  of  events*' ;  accordingly  the  clause  may  be 
thus  rendered,  and  then  that  zvhich  is  extraordinary  shall  be 
in  the  sun,  and  in  the  moon,  and  in  the  stars.  When  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  are  fulfilled,  great  and  extraordinary 
wants  shall  take  place  in  the  antichristian  monarchies  and 
aristocracies  of  the  world  ;  or,  in  other  words,  they  shall 
be  overturned. 

Then  -will  there  be — upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations, 
with  perplexity.  Since  e^vm  is  used  both  here  and  in  the 
last  verse,  why  in  one  instance  it  has  been  translated  gen- 
tiles, and  in  the  other  nations,  it  were  difficult  to  say.  But 
whatever  arbitrary  distinction  the  translator  might  intend, 
to  introduce,  it  is  unreasonable  to  suppose,  that  the  word 
does  not,  in  both  places  carry  a  uniformity  of  import.  In  the 
original,  K«<  cx-i  tjj?  yr,^  trutoyjv,  t^<tm  f»  xTrupix,  a  comma  ought, 
I  think,  to  be  placed  after  a-vvax,)i,  and  the  right  rendering 
of  the  words  will  then  be,  a?id  upon  the  earth  distress,  with 
perplexity  of  the  Gentiles.  As  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  the 
stars,  and  the  sea,  are  symbolic  expressions,  to  annex  a 
dissimilar  interpretation  to  the  word  earth  would  be  to  incur 


24  See  ch.  xxii. 

25  This  is  the  pi-oper  sense  of  <r>}i^iiov  in  the  New  Testament.  Accord- 
ingly between  tnifcaov  and  refUti,  lexicographers,  with  Tlieophylact  and 
Ammoniusof  Alexandria  at  their  head,  point  out  the  following  distinc- 
tion :  the  former  expresses  an  event,  which  is  extraordinary  and  unusual, 
but  agreeable  to  the  order  of  nature  ;  the  latter  signifies  that  which  is 
supernatural  and  miraculous.  It  is  perhaps  superfluous  for  me  to  add,  that 
in  the  lexicons  OTjftsfev  is  rendered  ostentuvi,  and  (as  the  reader  may  find 
by  turning  to  Littleton)  ostentuvi  signifies  that,  which  is  extraordinary, 
and  which  betokens  something  to  come.  The  latter  idea,  however,  is  not 
always  attached  to  the  word. 


172  CHAP.  XXVII. 

the  charge  of  inconsistency.  Dr.  Lancaster,  indeed,  ob- 
serves, that  '  it  is  the  zmuil  style  of  the  scriptures  to  re- 
present such  men  as  are  sinners,  idolators,  out  of  the  cove- 
nant of  grace,  or  at  least  apostates  from  it,  by  the  names  of 
earthy  inhabitants  of  the  earthy  and  the  like.'  The  clause, 
then,  imports,  that  upon  the  antichristian  part  of  the  world 
there  will  be  great  distress,  and  that  these  heathens,  as  they 
may  deservedly  be  styled,  shall  be  perplexed,  and  thrown 
into  the  most  nice  and  critical  situations. 

But  our  Lord  does  not  merely  apprise  us  of  the  fact,  that, 
immediately  previous  to  the  downfal  of  oppressive  govern- 
ment, the  antichristian  inhabitants  of  the  world  will  be 
involved  in  singular  distress  ;  but  he  also  acquaints  us  how 
this  distress  shall  be  caused.  And  upon  the  earth  distress^ 
witli  perplexity  of  the  Gentiles  ;  the  sea  and  the  xuaves  roar- 
ing ;  which  latter  clause,  as  Dr.  Priestley  on  the  passage 
remarks,  is  '  a  figurative  description  of  convulsions  among 
nations  by  war,  &c.^'  Wars  shall  happen,  which  shall 
shatter  the  power  of  aristocracy  and  of  despotism.  Nor  is 
the  information  the  less  sure  and  less  to  be  depended  upon, 
on  account  of  its  being  figuratively  expressed ;  for  these 
symbols  carry  along  with  them  a  fixed  and  determinate 
meaning.  '  Many  water s^'^ ^  says  Dr.  Lancaster,  in  his  dic- 
tionary, '  upon  the  account  of  their  noise,  number,  and  dis- 
order, and  confusion  of  their  waves  are  the  symbols  of 
nations  ;'  and  sea  troubled  and  tumultuous  denotes  a  'collec- 
tion of  men  in  motion  and  war.'  It  is  added,  merCs  hearts 
failing  them  for  fear ^  and  for  looking  after  those  things 
xvhich  are  coming  on  the  earth.  Fear  shall  seize  upon  the 
hearts  of  many  men.  AH  those  whose  claims  are  at  vari- 
ance with  the  welfare  and  the  rights  of  mankind  (and,  alas, 
they  are  a  numerous  body)  shall  tremble  at  those  events 
which  are  transacting  in  the  European  world**,  and  behold 


26  Priestley's  Harmony.     See  the  same  observations  in  Wolzogenius.. 

27  See  pages  55  and  56. 

28  The  reader  will  here  be  ready  to  exclaim,  wliy  do  you  interpret  the 
earth,  the  European  world :  in  the  last  verse  annexing  to  it  a  symbolic, 
find  in  this  a  literal,  sense  ?     But  this  difficulty  will  vanish,  when  it  is  re- 


CHAP.    XXVII.  ITS 

their  approaching  downfal  with  the  most  timorous  solici- 
tude. 

We  learn,  then,  that  the  calamities  which  are  to  be  looked 
for  with  so  much  anxiety  are  to  be  inflicted  upon  the  worldly- 
minded  and  the  enemies  of  Christ's  kingdom  ;  and  there- 
fore the  men^  whose  hearts  are  said  to  fail  them  for  fear^ 
appear  not  to  be  mankind  in  general,  but  those  in  particular, 
who  stand  in  the  different  ranks  of  the  antichristian  party^. 

The  recently  illustrated  passages  are  corapletelj'  in  unison 
with  the  more  detailed  accounts  of  the  Apocalypse.  By 
our  Lord,  and  by  his  favorite  apostle,  the  same  events  are 
represented  as  antecedent  to  the  proper  establishment  of  his 
kingdom, — general  xvars  among  the  nations^ — and  the  over- 
throw of  the  antichristian  monarchies.  Those  of  his  future 
disciples,  who  shall  be  witnesses  of  these  occvu-rences,  he 
has  accordingly  instructed,  that  they  should  pay  a  marked 
attention  to  them,  as  to  the  signs   and  forerunners  of 

THE    coming    of    HIS    KINGDOM. 

Having  declared  that  the  hearts  of  many  shall  fail  them 
for  fear ^  the  founder  of  our  divine  religion  immediately 
adds  the  reason :  for^  says  he,  the  powers  of  heaven^°  shall 
be  shaken^^.     The  scorching  luminaries  of  the  political  uni- 

plied,  that  the  word  translated  earth,  in  the  former  verse,  is  yti ;  in  the 
latter  oiKHf/svi].  Of  these  the  one  easily  admits  an  emblematic  meaning'; 
whilst  the  other  is  altogether  a  sti-anger  to  it.  That  oiKHf^evti  signifies  the 
counti-ies  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  the  principal  part  of  Europe  which 
are  included  under  it,  is  plain  from  ch.  il.  v.  1.  of  our  evangelist,  there 
luciit  out  a  decree  from  Ciffsar  Augustus,  tliat  all  the  ivorld  {oiTrxorxv  rtiv  oikh- 
jK.£v^»)  should  be  taxed. 

29  Should  the  earth,  however,  be  thought  to  denote  in  v.  25  mankind 
without  distinction,  still  will  the  passage  admit  of  an  easy  interpretation. 
In  the  conflict  between  many  of  the  kings,  and  between  the  people,  of 
the  world,  not  a  few  of  the  latter  will  naturally  be  awake  to  uneasy  ap- 
prehensions, lest  untoward  events  should  arise,  and  lead  to  the  firmer 
rlvetting  of  their  chains,  instead  of  their  being  broken  upon  the  heads  of 
their  oppressors. 

30  •  To  shake  the  heavens'  says  Daubuz,  •  sig-nifies  to  overthrow  the 
throne  of  kingdoms.'     On  the  Apoc.  p.  291. 

31  In  the  commentary  of  Wolzogenius  it  may  be  seen,  that  the  true  in- 
terpretation  of  this  passage  had  not  entirely  escaped  him. 


174  CHAP,  xxvir, 

verse^*  will  be  violently  agitated,  and  at  length  removed  out 
of  their  places ;  or,  to  quit  the  figures  of  the  prophet,  all 
the  oppressive  governments  and  aristocracies  of  the  world 
will  be  shaken  to  their  foundations  and  abolished.  And 
THEN  will  the  religion  of  Jesus  operate  Vv-ith  its  full  power, 
and  have  a  glorious  spread. 

A7id  xvhen  these  tlmi^s  begin  to  come  to  pass,  theti  look  up, 
and  lift  up  your  heads  ;  for  your  redemption  draweth  nigh^ 
or,  as  Mr.  Wakefield  translates, ybr  your  deliverance  is  at 
hand.  Seeing  Christianity,  stripped  of  all  false  appenda- 
ges, and  producing  its  proper  effects,  you  will  be  converted 
to  it,  and  will  no  longer  be  a  people,  oppressed  and  despis- 
ed. And  it  is  not  those  only  of  your  nation,  but  those  also 
of  tjour  faith  (i.  e.  the  Christian),  whose  deliverance  will 
be  accomplished".  From  that  pressure  of  evil,  which  they 
are  to  suffer  daring  the  ascendancy  of  Antichrist,  Christians 
as  well  as  Jews  will  be  liberated. 

Since  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  are 
expressions,  which  have  been  uniformly  employed  by  mo- 
dern writers  to  designate  a  future  world,  the  passage  which 
follows  has,  by  the  unlettered  reader,  been  generally  mis- 
apprehended. I  copy  it,  as  explained  by  Dr.  Sykes.  '  As 
■when  trees  shoot  forth,  tje  see  and  knoxv  of  your  oxvnselves 
that  summer  is  norv  nigh  at  hand ;  so  likervise,  when  ye  see 
these  things  come  to  pass^'^,''  knoiv  ye  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  nigh  at  hand:  that  it  will  then  be  at  its  full  growth 
and  state  of  perfections^'  This  judicious  divine  has  ac- 
cordingly proved  at  length,  that  those  Jewish  phrases,   the 

KINGDOM  OF  GoD^^,  and  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN",  which 

32  •  Heaven  and  earth  signify  a  Political  Universe.'     Dr.  Lancaster. 

33  *  The  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  the  fall  of  Antichrist,  shall  hap- 
pen about  the  same  time.'     Bp.  Newton,  vol.  III.  p.  391. 

34  '  As  if  he  had  said,  as  of  yourselves  you  are  apprised,  that  the  un- 
folding of  the  leaves  in  trees  is  the  forerunner  of  summer  ;  so  also  know, 
that  these  si^s  are  the  forerunners  of  your  deliverance.'     Wolzogenlus. 

35  Ess.  on  the  Truth  of  the  Chr.  Rel.  p.  56. 

36  i.  e.  a  kingdom  or  dispensation  set  up  by  God. 

37  It  is  called,  says  bishop  Kidder,  '  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  it  being  set 
\ip,  as  Daniel  expresseth  it,  by  the  God  of  heaven.'  Demonstr.  of  the 
Messiah,  vol.  III.  p.  388. 


S.IIAP.  XXVII.  175 

so  often  occur  in  the  evangelists,  are  equivolent  to  the  king'- 
dom  of  the  Messiah^  and  signify  the  dispensation  of  the 
gospel  as  preached  and  practised  upon  earth,  and  not  a  state 
of  future  existence,  nor  were  ever  thought  to  do  so  by  the 
disciples  of  our  Lord^^.  To  a  Jew,  indeed,  these  phrases 
were  familiar.  Thus  bp.  Kidder  assures  us,  that  the  Chal- 
dee  paraphrast,  like  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament, 
sometimes  denominated  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  the 
kingdom  of  God^^.  Accordingly,  says  Dr.  Sykes,  '  the 
Jews  were  so  well  acquainted  with  the  meaning  of  this  ex- 


38  P.  29 — 78.  That  they  bear  this  sense  may  be  seen  in  the  works  of 
Mede  (vol.  I.  p.  134),  in  bishop  Chandler's  Defence  of  Christianity  frovi  the 
Prophecies  (p.  101),  and  in  the  commentaries  of  Macknight,  bp.  Pearce, 
and  Wolzogenius ;  and  will  undeniably  appear  from  the  allegation  of  two 
or  three  instances.  Addressing  himself  as  to  the  scinbes  and  phai-isees, 
Jesus  said  (Mat.  xxiii.  13,  ye  shut  up  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against 
■men :  for  ye  neither  go  in  yourselves,  ?ieither  suffer  ye  thetn  that  are  entering  to 
go  ill.-  That  their  power  reached  to  a  future  world,  that  the  virtuous  they 
could  exclude  from  being  admitted  into  the  mansions  of  eternity,  cannot 
for  a  moment  be  supposed.  The  meaning,  then  plainly  is :  you  will  not 
yourselves  enter  into  the  gospel  dispensation,  nor  will  you  omit  to  practise 
various  expedients  to  preclude  others  from  the  participation  of  its  privi- 
leges. That  Christ  did  not  cast  out  de-vi.'s,  hut  by  Belzebub  the  prince  of  the 
ilevils,  was  objected  against  him  by  his  inveterate  enemies,  the  pharisees 
(Mat.  xii.  24,  28) ;  and  a  part  of  his  reply  was,  but  if  J  cast  out  devils  by 
the  spirit  of  God,  then  the,  kingdom  of  God  is  com^  unto  you.  The  in- 
t-pvprctation  is  obvious,  and  is  partly  given  in  the  words  of  Dr.  SykeS  :  but 
if  1  perform  miraculous  works  by  the  divine  assistr.nce,  it  is  evident  then, 
that  *the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  is  come  in  your  times  :  and  the  miracles 
done  by  me  confirm  that  I  am  no  impostor.'  One  other  instance  shall  be 
alleged,  as  it  is  a  famous  text,  which  has,  by  the  advocates  of  the  Roman 
see,  been  greatly  perverted.  When  Jesus  said  unto  Peter  (Mat.  xvi.  9), 
I  Mill  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  his  meaning 
was,  says  Dr.  Sykes,  I  will  cause  that  you,  the  fii-st  of  all  the  apostles, 
shall,  by  preaching,  open  the  gospel  dispensation  both  to  the  Gentiles  and 
to  the  Jews.  Within  the  narrow  pale  of  the  Jewish  church  religious  pri- 
vileges were  no  longer  to  be  shut  up  and  confined.  They  were  to  be  un- 
locked to  mankind  in  general.  Accordingly  we  read  in  the  Acts  of  the 
extraordinary  success  of  Peter's  preaching ;  and  that  he  did,  in  fact,  bring 
into  the  church  of  Christ  the  first  converts,  and  great  numbers  of  them, 
as  well  from  the  Gentile  world,  as  from  tlie  Jews. 
39  Dem  of  the  Mesa.  rol.  III.  p,  38S. 


176  CHAP.    XXVII- 

pression,  and  were  so  well  apprised  of  a  kingdom  which 
God  hath  resolved  in  his  due  time  to  set  up,  that  as  often 
as  Jesus  talked  of  the  kmgdom  of-  Heaven^  or,  of  God  ; 
neither  the  people,  nor  their  rulers  ever  offered  to  ask  him 
the  meaning  of  that  phrase"*".' 

But  a  part  of  the  words  of  Jesus  shall  again  be  cited. 
When  ye  see  and  knoxv  these  things  come  to  pass^  knoxv  ye 
that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  nigh  at  hand^\  Of  these  words 
the  full  import  appears  to  be  ;  when  ye  perceive  that  the 
antichristian  monarchies  and  aristocracies  of  the  world  are 
falling  to  pieces,  be  assured,  that  what  is  the  proper  Mes- 
siah's kingdom  is  then  approaching.  Hitherto  the  way  has 
only  been  prepared  for  this  kingdolTl'*^  Hitherto  has  been 
the  reign,  not  of  genuine  Christianity,  but  of  antichristian- 
ism.  This  passage  ought  not  lightly  to  be  passed  over,  for, 
if  duly  considered,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  evince,  that  Christ 
could  be  speaking  of  the  commencement  of  no  other  period, 
than  that  happy  state  of  the  world,  which  is  so  largely  de- 
scribed by  his  beloved  disciple,  as  certainly  to  be  established, 
and  certainly  to  continue  for  a  very  long  duration. 

Verily  I  say  unto  you^  this  generation  shall  not  pass  axvaij^ 
till  all  be  fidflled.  This  clause  of  the  prediction  has,  I 
conceive,  not  merely  been  generally  misapprehended,  but 
moreover  falsely  translated  ;  and  this  is  the  opinion  of  men, 
who  hold  the  first  rank  in  scriptural  criticism,  namely  of 
Mede  and  Wolfius  and  Dr.  Sykes"^^.  To  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  a  Mr.  Hayne  had   applied   this   part  of  our 


40  On  the  Tr.  of  the  Chr.  Rel.  p.  29. 

41  That  is,  says  Mede,  that  the  niillennium  is  at  hand,  p.  934. 

42  '  By  Christ's  kingdom,'  says  Dr  J.  Edwards,  '  is  sometimes  meant 
that  peculiar  and  special  time  of  his  reigning, — when  Chrislianity  shall 
arrive  at  its  height,  when  the  Churcli  shall  be  in  its  meridian. — It  may  be 
this  is  that  kingdom,  of  God,  of  which,  and  the  things  appertaining  to  it,  our 
Savioiu'  discoursed  to  his  apostles  before  he  left  the  world,  Acts,  i.  3-' 
Hist,  of  all  the  Dispensations  of  Religion,  vol.  II.  p.  649. 

43  Other  respectable  critics,  who  have  maintained  the  same  opinion,  it 
is  also  easy  to  name,  as  Brenius  (in  loc)  and  Markius  (in  Exercit.  Exege- 
ticis,  p.  560). 


CHAP.  XXVlI.  Iff 

Lord's  prophecy.  Hear  a  part  of  Mr.  Mede's  reply*  '  I 
answer,  first,  while  you  endeavor  in  this  manner  to  esta- 
blish a  ground  for  the  first  coming  of  Christ,  you  bereave 
the  church  of  those  principal  passages  of  the  scripture, 
whereon  she  hath  always  grounded  her  faith  of  the  second 
coming:  Secondly,  you  ground  all  this  upon  the  ambiguity 
of  the  word  generation^  whereas  yma  signifies  not  only  setas, 
but  gens*^^  natio  progenies^  and  so  ought  to  be  here  taken  j 
viz. — the  nation  of  the  Jews  should  not  perish^  till  all  these 
things  were  fulfilled.  For  so  signifies  Trxpe^S^  in  the  Hebrew 
notion,  as  you  may  see  even  in  the  verse  following. — Chry- 
sostom  among  the  ancients*',  and  Flacius  Illyricus  (a  man 
well  skilled  in  the  style  of  scripture)  among  the  moderns, 
and  those  who  follow  them,  might  have  admonished  others 
to  take  the  word  ymx  in  this  acceptation,  rather  than  by 
turning  it  cetas  or  seciilum,  to  put  this  prophecy  in  little-ease^ 
and  the  whole  harmony  of  scripture  out  of  frame,  by  I 
know  not  what  confused  interpretation*®.'  I  only  add,  that 
Dr.  Sykes  declares  himself  the  more  confirmed  in  this 
translation  'from  the  remarkable,  and  indeed,  unparalleled, 
preservation  of  the  Jews  in  the  midst  of  hatred  and  conti- 
nual persecutions*^.'  The  meaning  then  is,  the  Jewish  na- 
tion shall  assuredly  subsist  as  a  distinct  people,  till  all  that 
has  been  previously  mentioned  shall  have  httx\  fulfilled^  not 
only  during  the  most  corrupt  period  of  the  church,  but  un- 
til the  antichristian  governments  of  the  world  shall  have 
been  dissolved,  and  the  religion  of  Jesus  shall  have  begun 
to  shine  with  its  natural  lustre.     And  what  is  there  in  the 


44  Accordingly  Beza,  in  the  Gospels,  repeatedly  renders  yinx  by  the 
word  gens.  Vorstius  (in  his  Philol.  S'acr.  c.  12)  says  '  r/tvex  proprie 
genus,  proge!2iem,J'ami Uani  signiUcsA.     Deinde  et  Ta  ytvea-n  generationem' 

45  Indeed  by  the  fathers  in  general,  who  must  be  admitted  to  have  been 
competent  judges  of  the  meaning  of  the  word,  yevex  was  not  understood 
as  signifying  the  generation  then  living.  Some  persons,  however,  there 
were,  who  held  this  opinion  ;  but  says  Maldonatus,  Origen  entitles  them 
shnplices. 

46  P.  919. 

47  On  the  Tr.  of  the  Chr.  Ilel.  p.  61, 

Vol.  II.  ?. 


178  CHAP.   XXVII. 

existing  circumstances  of  the  world,  or  of  the  Jews,  which 
contradicts  this  assertion,  or  renders  it  incapable  of  being 
verified  ? 

The  language  of  Christ  is  expressed  with  all  possible 
strength.  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass  away  :  but  my  rvord 
shall  not  pass  axvay.  That  is,  says  bp.  Newton,  *  Heaven 
and  earrh  shall  sooner  or  more  easily  pass  away  ;  the  frame 
of  the  universe  shall  sooner  or  more  easily  be  dissolved, 
than  my  words  not  be  fulfilled''®.'  And  surely  the  predic- 
tion of  the  Jews  remaining  as  a  separate  people  was  a  fact 
of  sufficient  importance,  and  sufficiently  interesting  to  the 
persons  whom  our  Lord  was  addressing,  to  account  why  he 
annexed  to  it  an  affirmation  thus  striking  and  solemn. 

And  take  heed  to  yourselves^  lest  at  any  time  your  hearts 
be  overcharged  rvith  surfeiting^  and  drunkenness^  and  cares 
of  this  life,  and  so  that  day  co7ne  upon  you  unaxvares.  To 
excite  an  habitual  vigilance  in  Christians  of  every  age  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  primary  aim  of  this  admonition. 
From  the  manner  in  which  our  Lord  introduces  the  ex- 
pression, that  day,  it  is,  however,  evident,  that  he  is  still 
speaking  of  the  same  period,  of  which  he  had  been  treating 
in  the  preceding  verses.  The  verse,  then,  must  be  explain- 
ed so  as  to  harmonise  with  the  rest,  and  accordingly  may, 
in  this  manner,  be  paraphrased.  Beware  of  falling  into  ha- 
bits of  intemperance  and  extravagance.  Be  cautious  of 
being  so  besotted  bv  sordid  interest  and  the  cares  of  this 
life  ,•  that  you  should  in  consequence  engage  in  criminal 
pursuits  and  criminal  combinations,  adverse  to  the  general 
happiness  of  mankind,  and  to  the  practice  of  Christianity, 
and  thus  should  not  discern  the  Sigiis  of  the  Times,  nor  per^ 
ceive  the  approach  of  that  momentous  period,  when  the  way 

48  '  It  is  a  common  figure  of  speech  in  the  oriental  languages,  to  say  oi' 
two  things  that  the  one  shall  be  and  the  other  shall  not  be,  when  the 
meaning  is  only,  the  one  shall  happen  sooner  or  more  easily  than  the  other. 
As  in  this  instance  of  our  Saviour.'  Bp.  Newton,  vol.  II.  p.  318.  But  St, 
Luke  expresses  himself,  on  a  like  occasion,  without  a  figure  (xvi.  17),  :> 
is  easier  for  heaven  and  earth  to  pass  than  one  tittle  ofthe  larj  to  fail- 


CHAP.  XXVII.  179 

shall  be  prepared  for  the  establishment  of  that  religion  z'n 
spirit  and  in  truth^  and  those,  who  uphold  what  is  antichris- 
tian  and  oppressive,  shall  be  subjected  to  the  heaviest  and 
most  unlooked  for  calamities.  For  as  a  snare  shall  it  come 
on  all  them  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  When  that 
period  arrives,  and  unexpectedly  will  it  arrive,  those,  who 
obstinately  cling  to  antichristian  abuses,  shall  be  destined 
to  fall  a  snare  to  the  devices  themselves  have  planned. 

In  the  parallel  chapter  of  Matthew  (xxiv),  in  v.  41,  42, 
and  43  it  is  said,  Watch^  therefore  :  for  ye  know  not  -what 
hour  your  Lord  doth  come.  But  knoxv  this^  that  if  the  good 
man  of  the  house  had  knoxvn  in  what  rvatch  the  thief  would 
come^  he  would  have  xvatched^  and  ruoidd  not  have  suffered 
his  house  to  be  broken  up.  Therefore  be  ye  also  ready :  for^ 
in  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not^  the  son  ofmancometh.  Bp. 
Newton  observes,  that  '  Christ  is  said  to  come  upon  any 
notable  and  illustrious  manifestation  of  his  providence*';' 
and  accordingly  the  context  here  directs  us  to  understand 
his  coming  of  that  splendid  display  of  justice,  when,  as 
we  are  told  in  this  chapter,  the  symbolic  sun,  and  moon, 
and  stars  will  all  be  darkened. 

Strongly  is  this  interpretation  of  these  three  verses  con- 
firmed by  the  manner  in  which  a  parallel  passage  is  applied 
by  St.  John.  In  the  v.ar  of  Armageddon,  the  antichristian 
kings  are  to  experience  an  irreparable  defeat;  and,  in  the 
account  of  this  war,  the  following  caution  is  inserted  ;  Be- 
hold^ I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth^^.  Here, 
says  Daubuz,  Christ  himself  is  plainly  represented  as  speak- 
ing. With  a  reference  to  the  exhortation  of  Christ,  which 
has  just  been  quoted  from  Matthew,  I  cite  also  the  follow- 
ing passage  from  Dr.  Hartley.  '  How  near  the  dissolution 
of  the  present  governments,  generally  or  particularly,  may 
be,  would  be  great  rashness  to  affirm.  Christ  will  come  in 
this  sense  also,  as  a  thief  in  the  yiighi^^.'* 


49  Vol.  III.  p.  346.  50  XVI.  It 

>!  On  Man,  vol.  II.  p.  368. 


180  CHAP.    XXVII. 

On  the  order  of  tiyjie^  in  which  the  events  predicted  by 
our  Lord  are  to  follow  each  other,  somewhat  may  be  far- 
ther noted.  The  powers  of  heaven  shall  be  shaken.  The 
antichristian  powers  shall  be  removed  from  the  political 
universe.  And  in^jfi  shall  theij  see  the  son  of  man  coming 
in  a  cloud  zvith  power  and  great  glory.  And  quickly  af- 
terwards the  religion  of  Jesus  shall  have  a  glorious  preva- 
lence. And  when  these  things  begin  to  come  to 
PASS  ;  when  a  part  of  the  oppressive  governments  of  the 
world  shall  be  destroyed  (probably  those  of  this  character 
in  Europe),  and  the  Christian  religion  is  in  consequence 
beginning  to  produce  its  natural  effects  ;  then  look  up^  and 
lift  up  your  heads ;  for  your  deliverance  draweth  nigh.  But 
Matthew  says,  that  the  sun  shall  be  darkened  after  the 
tribulation  of  those  days.  What  then  is  the  conclusion  we 
draw  from  the  comparison  of  the  two  passages  ?  Since 
from  Matthew  we  gather,  that  the  tribulation  and  perse- 
cution of  the  Jews  are  entirely  to  cease,  before  the  anti- 
christian governments  of  the  world  shall  be  completely 
darkened  ;  and  since  from  Luke  we  learn,  that  what  is 
called  their  deliverance  in  an  event  subsequent  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  destruction  of  these  governments  ;  it  is 
probable,  that  an  interval  of  time  will  elapse,  between  their 
being  tolerated  and  freed  from  all  considerable  oppressions, 
and  their  return  to  their  own  land  and  acceptance  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus.  To  the  expectations  of  reason  this,  in- 
deed, is  perfectly  consonant. 

From  the  explication  which  has  been  offered  of  our 
Lord's  prediction,  it  will,  I  hope,  appear,  that  however 
awful  and  terrifying  may  be  the  aspect  which  they  wear, 
when  first  surveyed,  and  however  they  may  have  been 
thought  to  threaten  human  kind  in  general ;  yet  that  they 
do,  when  narrowly  inspected  and  justly  interpreted,  cease 
to  afford  ground  of  alarm  to  the  philosophic  philanthro- 
pist and  genuine  Christian  ;  though  they  are,  indeed,  fitted 
to  communicate  a  degree  of  seriousness  and  solicitude  to 
every  mind,  and  are  calculated  to  inspire  with  the  most 
painful  reflexions  and  the  deepest  dismay  all  the  sons  qf 


CHAP.  XXVII.  18i 

usurpation  and  of  plunder,  however  elevated  their  power, 
however  ancient  their  claims,  and  however  artfully  they 
may  have  sheltered  themselves  under  the  forms  of  law  or 
the  profession  of  Christianity.  But  persons  of  this  de- 
scription regard  not  the  divine  oracles.  It  were  well,  if,  in 
the  ears  of  such,  the  tremendous  words  of  the  apostle  Pauj 
Vere  loudly  sounded.  Beware^  therefore^  lest  that  come 
upon  ijoii^  xvh'ich  is  spoken  of  in  the  prophets  :  Behold^  ye 
despisers^  and  wonder  and  perish.;  for  I  work  a  zvork  in 
your  days.,  a  tvork,  xvhich  ye  shall  in  no  wise  delieve,  though 
a  man  declare  it  unto  you^'.  These  words  '  St.  Paul  ap- 
plied' (I  am  now  quoting  from  bp.  Hurd)  ^  to  the  unbe- 
lieving Jews  ;  of  whose  mockery,  and  of  whose  fate,  ye 
have  heard  what  their  own  historian  witnesseth"  :  and  if 
we  equal  their  obdurate  spirit,  that  prophecy  may  clearly 
be  applied,  and  no  man  can  say,  that  it  was  not  intended  to 
be  applied  to  ourselves. — '  Let  us,  then,  on  a  principle  of 
self-love,  if  not  of  piety,  keep  the  sayings  of  this  boo k^"^,  con- 
cerning THE  MAN  OF  SIN.  From  many  appearances,  the 
appointed  time  for  the  full  completion  of  them  may  not 
be  very  remote.  And  it  becomes  our  prudence  to  take 
heed,  that  we  be  not  found  in  the  number  of  those,  to  whom 
that  awful  question  is  proposed,  Hoxv  is  it,  that  ye  do  not 
discern  the  signs  of  this  time^^  ?''  This  cautious  and  courtly 
prelate  here  assumes  an  apostolic  plainness  ;  and  seems,  for 
a  moment,  to  be  forgetful  of  his  episcopal  station,  and  to 
divest  himself  of  his  natural  charactei-.  To  many  of  those, 
with  whom  his  lordship  associates,  a  more  suitable  lesson 
of  caution  and  of  advice  he  could  not  have  possibly  offered. 

52  Acts  xiii.  40,  41. 

53  Vol.  II.  p.  228.  '  Josephus  tells  us,  that,  in  the  last  dreadful  ruin  of 
his  unhappy  countnmen,  it  was  familiar  with  them,  to  viah  a  jest  ofdi- 
•o/;;e  things,  and  to  deride,  as  so  many  senseless  tales  and  ji'ggUng  impostures, 
the  sacred  oracles  of  their  prophets  ;  thoug'li  they  were  then  fultilling  before 
their  eyes,  and  even  upon  themselves.'     Hui-d,  p.  226. 

54  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy. 
Olid  keep  those  things  'ivhich  are  written  therein.     Rev.  i.  3. 

^5  Liike  xil,  56. 


182  CHAP.    XXVII. 

My  next  quotation  is  from  another  classical  scholar,  who 
has  likewise  contemplated  the  signs  of  the  times  with  an 
attentive  eye,  and  who  also  was  educated  in  the  bosom  of 
the  church  and  in  the  university  of  Cambridge  ;  but  whose 
principles  of  conduct  have  been  perfectly  opposite  to  those 
of  the  bishop  of  Worcester.  '  There  is,'  says  Mr.  Wake- 
field, '  a  season,  when  inactivity  were  a  crime  :  and  public 
admonition,  even  at  the  hazard  of  personal  comforts,  rises 
into  an  indispensable  obligation  ;  to  those,  at  least,  who  are 
desirous  that  their  master  should  not  be  ashamed  of  them  at 
his  second  coming.  I  am  expecting  with  trembling  solici- 
tude, amidst  the  incessant  occupations  of  a  literary  life, 
that  alarming  catastrophe,  which  ihe  signs  of  the  times  in- 
dicate, in  my  mind,  to  be  rapidly  approaching'"^.' 

To  the  reasons  which  have  before  been  stated",  to  ac- 
count why  the  preceding  exposition  of  the  prophecy  of  Jesus 
has  not  been  embraced  or  noticed  by  any  of  our  English 
commentators,  it  may  be  added,  that  most  of  them  have 
been  too  contracted  in  their  inquiries,  and  have  been  little 
careful  to  collect  the  light  which  has  been  struck  out  by  fo- 
reign writers  on  the  subject :  and  that  their  vernacular  ver- 
sion, upon  which  too  implicit  confidence  has  been  placed, 
is,  in  some  important  points,  erroneous. 

56  Spirit  of  Christianity  compai-ed  with  tlie  Spirit  of  the  Times,  p.  20. 

57  In  p.  396. 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  183 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

objections  against  the  common  interpretations   of 
Christ's  prophecy. 

HAVING  endeavored  to  give  a  rational  and  consist- 
ent interpretation  of  the  whole  of  the  latter  division  of  our 
Lord's  prophetic  discourse  ;  I  shall,  in  order  to  furnish  the 
reader  with  a  yet  farther  presumption  of  its  truth,  briefly 
allege  some  objections,  which  have  forcibly  struck  my  own 
mind,  and  appear  completely  to  overthrow  the  two  other 
hypothesis  ;  one  of  which  would  explain  it  of  the  end  of 
the  world  and  the  final  judgment ;  -whilst  the  other  would 
confine  it  to  the  period,  when  the  capital  of  Judea  was  cap- 
tured and  destroyed.  Of  these  two  interpretations,  the 
first  has  obtained  the  greatest  number  of  advocates' ;  and 
v.ith  that  I  shall  begin. 

It  is  to  the  false  translation  of  t«  «/»v«5,  as  signifying  the 
xvorld^  that  its  prevalence  may  in  a  great  degree  be  attri- 
buted. This  translation  has  the  patronage  of  archbishop 
Tillotson.  After  our  Lord's  disciples  had  inquired,  rvhen 
shall  these  thhig-s  be^  i.  e.  when  shall  the  temple  be  destroy- 
ed, to  this  inquiry,  '  they  subjoined,'  says  the  archbishop, 
*  another  ;  and  what  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy  comhig  P  that 
is,  to  judgment,  and  of  the  end  of  the  world?  which,  in 
all  probability,  was  added  to  the  former,  because  they  sup- 
posed that  the  one  was  presently  to  follow  the  other*.'  '  The 
disciples,'  says  Matt.  Henry  in  a  more  positive  tone,  '  had 
confounded  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  end  of 
the  world,  which  was  built  upon  a  mistake,  as  if  the  tem- 
ple must  needs  stand  as  long  as  the  world  stands.'  It  is 
true,  they  were  mistaken^.  But  this  is  an  error,  from 
which,  I  am  convinced,  they  steered  perfectly  clear.  '  They 
must,'  as  Dr.  Macknight  observes,  '  certainly  have  known. 


1  See  Cressener's  Dam.  of  the  Prot.  Appl.  of  the  Apoc,  p.  81. 

2  Serm.  96.  3  See  p.  531,  532. 


184  CHAP.  xxViii, 

I 

that  Solomon's  building  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Babylo- 
nians, though  erected  by  the  appointment  of  God,  and  dig- 
nified with  the  Schechinah,  or  visible  symbol  of  the  Divine 
presence.  If  so,  they  could  hardly  think  that  a  temple  so 
much  inferior,  both  in  the  greatness  of  its  privileges,  and 
the  beauty  of  its  fabric,  was  not  to  perish,  unless  in  the 
desolation  of  the  world.  In  the  second  place,  according 
to  this  interpretation  of  the  prophecy,  Jesus  hath  declared^ 
with  the  greatest  solemnity,  a  thing  which  no  person  could 
be  ignorant  of.  For  who  did  not  know,  that  with  the  world 
Herod's  temple,  and  all  other  buildings,  should  crumble 
into  pieces  ?' 

'  If,'  says  Mr.  Nisbett,  '  our  translation  is  admitted  to 
be  right,  the  disciples  not  only  introduce  a  question,  which 
has  no  connexion  with  the  occasion  which  gave  rise  to  it, 
but  which  was  directly  opposed  to  their  well-known  senti- 
ments. So  far  were  they  from  conceiving  the  end  of  the 
world  to  be  at  hand,  in  the  strict  and  literal  sense  of  the 
expression,  that  they  became  the  followers  of  Jesus  from  a 
firm  persuasion,  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  who  should  reign 
gloriously  over  them*.'  And  it  may  be  added,  that  the  apos- 
tles could  not  have  forgotten,  what  the  repeated  prophetic 
declarations  of  Daniel  necessarily  imply,  that  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  to  be  established  on  earth  should  be  of  very  long 
duration^. 

yerusalem^  says  the  holy  founder  of  our  religion  (Luk. 
xxi.  24),  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles^  until  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled;  and,  two  or  three  verses 
farther,  when  these  things  begin  to  come  to  pass,  then  look 
up,  and  lift  up  your  heads ;  for  your  deliverance  draweth 
nigh.  That  the  first  of  these  passages  relates  to  the  resto- 
ration of  the  Jews,  is  plain  ;  and  that  the  second  has  a  re- 
ference to  the  same  event,  there  can  be  little  room  to  doubt. 
To  suppose  that  all  the  latter  part  of  our  Lord's  prophecy 
respects  the  dissolution  of  the  world,  is  to  suppose,  that  he 


4  Illustr.  of  Passages  in  the  Epist.  of  the  New  Test.  &c.  p.  15- 

5  See  Dan.  II  44.  vii.  14,  18,  27. 


CHAP.    XXVIII.  185 

has  solemnly  foretold  the  tutarc  deliverance  of  the  Jews» 
and  that  this  solemn  declaration  shall  never  be  fulfilled. 
Such  is  the  dilemma,  to  which  the  advocates  of  this  opinion 
are  reduced. 

Verily  I  say  unto  you^  this  generation  shall  not  pass,  till 
all  these  things  be  fulfilled,  is  the  affirmation  of  Christ,  ds 
given  in  our  common  version.  It  is  on  the  sense,  he  rean- 
nexed  to  yfvf«,  and  on  the  literal  interpretation  of  other  of 
his  words,  that  an  artful,  and  seemingly  formidable,  objec- 
tion against  the  truth  of  our  Lord's  predictions  has  been 
founded.  The  quotation  that  follows  is  from  a  writer,  who 
approaches  the  believer  with  the  mask  of  a  friend,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  breathes  the  most  determined  hostility 
against  the  religion  of  Jesus,  and  seizes  every  opportunity 
of  silently  aiming  a  blow  against  the  evidences  of  its  divine 
original.  '  Those  who  understood  in  their  literal  sense  the 
discourses  of  Christ  himself '  were,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  ^  ob- 
liged to  expect  the  second  and  glorious  coming  of  the  son 
of  man  in  the  clouds,  before  that  generation  was  totallv  ex- 
tinguished, which  had  beheld  his  humble  condition  upon 
earth,  and  which  might  still  be  witness  to  the  calamities  of 
the  Jews  under  Vespasian  or  Hadrian.  The  revolution  of 
seventeen  centuries  has  instructed  us  not  to  press  too  closely 
the  mysterious  language  of  prophecy  and  revelation ;  but  as 
long  as,  for  wise  purposes,  this  error  was  permitted  to 
subsist  in  the  church,  it  was  productive  of  the  most  salu- 
tary effects  on  the  faith  and  practice  of  Christians^'  But 
the  lapse  of  time,  I  conceive,  furnishes  a  very  different  les- 
son. It  instructs  us,  not  that  the  figurative  language  of 
prophecy  has  been  pressed  too  closely,  but  that  it  has  not 
been  pressed  close  enough. 

Not  very  differently  speaks  a  doctor  of  the  church,  whose 
concession  will  probably  be  regarded  as  rather  extraordi- 
nary, when  it  is  considered  that  it  proceeded  from  the  pul- 
pit of  one  of  our  universities.  Our  Saviour,  says  Dr. 
Thomas  Edwards,  in  the  xxivth  ch.  of  Matthew,  decisively 

6  Uecl.  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Emp.  vol.  II,  p.  301. 

Vol.  II.  A  a 


186  CHAP.  XXVIII* 

foretells,  that  the  generation  then  existing  should  not  be 
totally  extinguished,  till  it  had  witnessed  his  second  and 
glorious  appearance  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  Yet  the  re- 
cords of  history  do  not  authorise  us  to  believe,  that  this 
prediction  was  accomplished  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem^' 

And  after  professedly  investigating  the  import  of  various 
passages  relevant  to  this  subject,  and  noticing  the  specious, 
and,  as  he  conceives,  unanswerable  objection  of  Mr.  Gib- 
bon ;  he  terminates  his  enquiry  with  declaring,  that  '  it 
becomes  the  antagonist  of  our  historian  most  earnestly  to 
consider,  whether  the  real  interests  of  Christianity  would 
not  be  more  essentially  promoted  by  conceding  the  objec- 
tion to  his  adversary,  than  by  vainly  attempting  to  remove 
it*.'  But  happily  the  attempt  is  not  vain.  The  interpreta- 
tion of  our  Lord's  prophecy,  which  has  been  given  in  the 
present  work,  completely  wrests  from  the  hands  of  the  in- 
fidel this  powerful  objection,  against  the  truth  of  Christi- 
anity, and  the  veracity  of  Jesus  as  a  prophet. 

What  our  Lord  says  (Mark  xiii.  27),  and  then  shall  he  send 
his  angels^  and  shall  gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four 
xvinds^  from  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth  to  the  uttermost 
part  of  heaven^  will  be  explained  in  a  future  chapter ;  and 
I  will  here  only  observe,  that  this  passage,  which  has  been 
triumphantly  urged  as  pointing  to  the  day  of  judgment,  and 
which,  at  the  first  sight,  certainly  does  afford  more  counte- 
nance to  that  idea  than  any  other  verse  in  the  whole  of  the 
discourse,  is  in  truth  inapplicable  to  that  event.  For,  at 
thaUawful  period,  not  the  elect  only,  but  all  men  whatso- 
ever, will,  it  may  be  expected,  be  summoned  before  the  tri- 
bunal of  Christ. 

Another  portion  also  of  the  prophecy,  which  has  been 
thought  most  favorable  to  the  hypothesis  I  am  considering, 
and  they  shall  see  the  Son   of  man  coming  in   the  clouds  of 


7  Sermon  on  the  Predictions  of"  the  Apostles  concerning-  the  End  of  the 
Workl,  preached  before  tlie  University  of  Cambridge,  1790,  p.  19. 

8  P.  ,35. 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  18T 

heaven^  will,  if  traced  to  its  source,  be  found  altogether  ad- 
verse to  it.  For  the  expression  was  borrowed  by  our  Lord 
from  the  viith  ch.  of  DanieP,  where  it  unquestionably  re- 
lates not  to  the  dissolution  of  the  world,  but  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  millennium.  It  might  have  been  expected, 
that  this  circumstance  would,  of  itself,  have  furnished  the 
commentators  with  a  clue,  capable  of  guiding  them  in  their 
researches,  and  that  it  would  have  led  them  to  fix  •on  the 
true  period,  to  which  our  Lord's  prophecy  pointed. 

The  interpretation  that  follows  from  Matthew  Henry  is 
totally  repugnant  to  reason  and  probability.  In  the  24th 
and  25th  verses  of  the  xiiith  ch.  of  Mark,  Christ  'foretells 
the  Jinal  dissolution  of  the  present  frame  and  fabric  of  the 
world :  even  of.  that  part  of  it  which  seems  least  liable  to 
change,  even  the  upper  part ;  the  sun  shall  be  darkened^  and 
the  moon  shall  no  more  give  her  light ;  for  they  shall  be 
quite  out-shone  by  the  glory  of  the  Son  of  man,  Isa.  xxiv. 
23.  The  stars  of  heaven,  that  from  the  beginning  had 
kept  their  place,  and  regular  motion,  shall  fall  as  leaves  in 
autumn  ;  and  the  potvers  that  are  in  heaven^  the  heavenly 
bodies,  the  fixed  stars,  shall  he  shaken^°.^  They  are  such 
interpretations  as  this,  and  that  other  which  is  cited  from 

9  We  may,  says  Mede,  take  '  this  for  a  sure  ground,  that  this  expres- 
sion of  the  Son  of  man's  coining  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  so  often  inculcated  in 
the  New  Testament,  is  taken  from  and  hath  reference  to  the  prophecy  of 
Daniel,  being-  no  where  else  found  in  the  Old  Testament.  As  our  Savi- 
our also  calls  himself  so  frequently  the  Son  of  man,  because  Daniel  so 
called  him, — and  that  we  miglit  look  for  the  accomplishment  of  what  is 
there  prophesied  of  in  him.  It  was  not  in  vain,  that  when  our  Saviour 
quoted  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  he  added,  he  that  readeth  him,  let  him  un- 
derstand.'' p.  934.  See  a  similar  observation  of  Dr.  Sykes  mentioned  in 
Vol.  II.  p.  163. 

10  Dr.  Pococke,  in  his  Commentary  on  a  similar  passage  in  Joel,  ch. 
lii.  v.  15,  where  it  is  said,  tlie  sun, and  the  moon  shall  he  darkened,  and  the  stars 
shall  ivithdraiu  their  shining,  says,  *  Jerom  thinks  the  words  so  to  sound,  aa 
if  tliose  heavenly  bodies,  not  able  to  behold  the  sorrows  of  that  day  of 
God's  judgments  spoken  of,  and  tiie  cruel  torments  inflicted  on  them  that 
shall  then  perisli,  should  even  out  of  fear  to  themselves  withdraw  their 
presence.  He  seems  to  refer  it  to  the  dreadful  day  of  the  last  judgment.' 
That  it  cannot  point  to  that  day  is  plain  from  tlie  temporal  blessings,  which 
are  promised,  in  the  subsequent  verges,  to  the  clilldren  of  Israel. 


188  CHAP.  XXVIII. 

Jerom  in  a  note,  which  have  afforded  some  colour  of  plau- 
sibility to  the  groundless  declaration  of  Thomas  Paine,  a 
declaration  on  which  he  lays  much  stress  (in  his  Age  of 
Reason  J  ^  that  the  belief  of  Christianity,  and  the  belief  of 
a  pluralit}'  of  worlds,  are  altogether  irreconcileable.  '  What 
are  we  to  think,'  asks  this  celebrated  writer,  '  of  the  Chris- 
tian system  of  faith,  that  forms  itself  upon  the  idea  of 
only  one  world,  and  that  of  no  greater  extent,  as  is  before 
shewn,  than  25,000  miles"?'  Certainly  if  this  narrow,  un- 
philosophic  idea  formed  really  a  part  of  the  Christian  sys- 
tem, this  circumstance  would  throw  over  it  very  strong 
suspicions.  But  the  fact  is,  that  the  idea  ought  to  be  se- 
parated from  it,  and  that  Christianity  stands  perfectly  clear 
of  the  charge". 

11  P.  39 — 46.  In  animadverting  on  tlie  manner  in  which  Mr.  Paine  has 
spoken  of  the  book  of  Re\  elation,  Mr.  Wakefield  says,  '  that  the  random 
fiction  of  a  distempered  brain  should  be  marked  with  such  characters  of 
consistency  and  truth,  as  are  found  on  the  face  of  the  Apocalypse,  is  to 
me  perfectly  inconceivable :  not  much  unlike  a  suspicion,  that  the  fabric  of 
St.  Peter's  at  Rome  was  not  the  work  of  architectural  ingenuity,  but 
thrown  up  in  its  present  foi-m  by  an  eartliquake  or  a  volcano.'  Exam,  of 
the  Age  of  Reason,  2d  cd.  p.  45. 

12  In  truth,  the  study  of  revelation,  by  teaching  us,  that  we  are  beings 
designed  for  immortality  tends  to  enlarge  our  views  with  respect  to  the 
probable  destination  of  many  of  the  planetary  orbs,  which  revolve  either 
round  our  own  or  more  distant  suns.  To  suppose  that  the  pai-ticular  state 
of  being  and  happiness,  or  the  particular /)/ace  of  residence,  to  which  vir- 
tuous men  will  be  transported  at  their  departure  from  this  world,  will  for 
ever  remain  the  same,  is,  I  conceive,  an  expectation  contracted  and  un- 
philosophic,  though  it  has,  indeed,  been  frequently  coimtenanced  by  the 
declarations  of  divines.  In  the  chain  of  existence,  man,  it  may  be  pre- 
sumed, constitutes  no  very  elevated  link.  The  distinctions  of  being 
which  intervene  between  man  and  the  oyster,  numerous  as  they  are,  it 
is  likely,  are  surpassed  in  number  by  those  which  separate  man  from  the 
Deity.  Is  it  credible,  that  an  immortahty  should  be  passed,  on  a  single 
spot  of  creation,  or  in  a  uniform  routine  of  occupations  !  Is  it  not  rather 
to  be  expected,  that  there  will  be  a  long  succession  of  stales  and  of  worlds, 
in  which  improvements  will  gradually  succeed  to  improvements,  the  fa- 
culties of  the  celestial  inhabitants  being  more  and  more  enlarged,  and 
their  prospects  becoming  more  and  more  extensive  ?  The  promises  of  ne- 
yer-ending  happiness,  which  the  New  Testament  promises  to  the  virtu- 
<y\\=i.  do  then  perfectly  correspond  with  those  magnificent  ideas  of  the  ex^ 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  189 

Had  the  discourse  of  Jesus  been  prophetic  of  the  disso- 
lution of  the  world  and  of  the  day  of  judgment,  surely  it 
might  have  been  expected,  that  some  notice  should  have 
been  taken  in  it  of  the  resurrectioxi  of  the  dead,  of  their 
being  summoned  before  the  bar  of  Christ,  of  the  solemn 
sentence  there  to  be  pronounced,  and  of  the  varying  situa- 
tion? of  felicity  and  wretchedness  in  which  each  individual 
shall  then  be  placed.  But  to  these  momentous  circum- 
stances thei-e  is  no  allusion  in  the  prophecy. 

Bp.  Newton,  Dr.  Macknight,  Mr.  Nisbett,  and  some 
other  modern  writers,  plainly  discerning  that  this  interpre- 
tation of  our  Lord's  prophecy,  as  referring  to  the  end  of 
the  world,  is  altogether  untenable,  have  advanced  another, 
which  they  flatter  themselves  is  more  free  from  difficulties. 
The. whole  of  it  they  explain  as  relating  to  the  Jewish  state 
alone,  and  the  subversion  of  the  Jewish  capital  and  policy. 
As  the  interpretation  they  reject  is  principally  grounded 
upon  an  erroneous  translation  of  yim  ;  in  the  same  manner 
that  which  they  have  adopted  derives  its  prime  support 
from  the  ambiguity  of  a  single  word.  But  the  argument, 
drawn  from  the  equivocal  meaning  of  aexf*,  is  spoken  of  by 
bp.  Newton  as  if  it  were  decisive  and  irresistible.  '  It  is,' 
says  he,  '  to  me  a  wonder  hoxv  any  man  can  refer  part  of 
the  foregoing  discourse  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
and  part  to  the  end  of  the  world,  or  any  other  distant 
event,  when  it  is  said  so  positively  here  in  the  conclusion, 
all  these  things  shall  be  fulfilled  in  this  g'eneratio?i'^.^  In 
order  to  account  for  the  wonder  expressed  by  the  prelate, 
and  for  his  having  sincerely  felt  it,  candor  might  incline 

tent  of  space,  and  the  capaciousness  of  the  lieavenly  bodies,  which  the 
study  of  Astronomy  sug'gests.  The  extreme  brevity  of  tlie  period  of  our 
continuance  on  earth,  when  contrasted  with  the  boundless  extent  of  eter- 
nity, bears,  indeed,  some  analogy  to  the  difference,  which  subsists  be- 
tween the  immensity  of  the  material  universe,  and  the  comparative  di- 
minutiveness  of  the  solar  system,  which,  to  an  eye  placed  in  the  centre 
of  existence,  woiUd  appear  but  as  a  point,  and,  if  annihilated,  would  bc 
fiir  from  occasioning"  any  perceptible  veracity. 
1.3  Vol.  II.  p.  Sir. 


190  CHAP.  XXVIII. 

one  to  suppose,  were  the  supposition  admissible,  that  he 
had  never  heard  of  another  signification  having  been  an- 
nexed to  the  word.  But  since  it  was  differently  explained 
by  the  generality  of  the  fathers,  and,  as  has  already  been 
seen,  by  Brenius,  and  Mede,  by  Wolfius,  Marckius  and 
Dr.  Sykes  ;  and  since  the  world  was  in  possession  of  their 
respective  writings,  antecedently  to  the  piiblication  oi.  the 
bishop's  Dissertations,  not  to  mention  other  well  known 
authors  who  had  noticed  this  explication  of  the  word  ;  it  is 
not  credible,  that  so  diligent  a  student  as  his  Lordship 
could  have  been  ignorant  of  it,  or  of  its  having  been  ad- 
vanced by  critics  of  eminence. 

The  reader  has  already  seen,  that  in  Matthew  the  qv^es- 
tion  of  our  Lord's  disciples  runs  thus  (and  it  is  in  Mat- 
thew that  it  is  most  fully  expressed),  Tell  Jis^  when  shall 
these  thinrrs  be  ?  i.  e.  the  overthrow  and  demolition  of  the 

o 

temple  of  Jerusalem.  And  xvhat  shall  be  the  sign  of  thy 
comings  and  of  the  end  of  the  period  P  That  this  passage 
contains  two  distinct  questions,  any  person,  I  think,  who 
views  it  with  an  impartial  eye,  will  not  fail  of  discerning  ; 
and  it  is  therefore  reasonable  to  believe,  that  our  Lord 
would  give  to  them  distinct  answers.  As  bp.  Newton, 
however,  clearly  perceived,  that  if  these  promises  were 
granted,  the  conclusion  alleged  would  follow ;  he  asserts, 
that  '  the  purport  of  the  question  plainly  is  when  shall  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  be,  and  what  shall  be  the  signs 
of  it'*.' — But  this  is  only  part  of  the  purport  ;  and,  I  be- 
lieve, this  mode  of  limiting  the  question  is  not  more  con- 
trary to  the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  interpreters,  than  it 
is  at  variance  with  the  plain  import  of  the  words.  '  They 
inquire  of  him,'  says  Chrysostom  (in  loc),  '  these  two 
things,  when  shall  these  things  be  :  namely  the  dissolution 
of  the  temple,  and  what  would  be  the  sign  of  his  coming.^ 
Theophylact  (in  loc.)  has  a  similar  passage.  Indeed  the 
learned  Maldonatus  (in  his  commentary  printed  in  1639) 
says,  that  no  one  denies,  that  the  disciples  asked  of  him 

14Vol.  II.  p.  214 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  191 

distinct  questions,  respecting  the  destruction  of  the  temple, 
and  his  coming.  '  Christ,  if  I  am  capable  of  discerning 
any  thing,'  says  Grotius,  '  distinctly  answers  to  distinct 
questions. — The  coming  of  Christ  many  do  not  distinguish 
from  the  end  of  the  world,  being,  I  apprehend,  deceived 
by  the  ambiguity  of  the  word  ;  for  it  is  most  certain,  that 
the  word  Trxpaa-M  [or  comifig]  has  a  diversity  of  acceptation. 
I  here  interpret  it,  not  of  the  Judgment,  but  of  the  king- 
dom of  the  Messiah'^' 

*  Our  Saviour  could  not,'  says  Mr.  Taylor  of  Ports- 
mouth, *  mean  to  tell  his  disciples,  that  his  coming  would 
be  during  that  generation  and  at  the  tiine  of  the  desolation^ 
because  he  had  assured  them,  that  the  time  of  his  coming 
was  known  to  God  alone,  verse  36.     Mark  xiii.  32'^.' 

In  the  24th  v.  of  the  xxist  ch.  of  Luke  our  Lord  fore- 
tells, that  the  Jews  shall  be  led  into  all  tiations,  and  that 
the  capital  of  their  country  shall  continue  in  possession  qf 
the  Gentiles,  until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled. 
Now  this  period  is  not  arrived,  but  ferusalem  is  still  trod- 
den down  of  the  Ge7itiles  :  and  it  is  therefore  reasonable  to 
suppose,  from  the  manner  in  which  the  9  subsequent  verses 
are  introduced,  that  neither  are  the  prophecies  contained  in 
them  yet  accomplished. 

It  is  to  Judea  and  Jerusalem  alone,  that  bp.  Newton,  and 
those  who  follow  his  hypothesis,  of  course  apply  the  25th 
verse  ;  which,  according  to  the  common  translation,  runs 
thus,  and  there  shall  be  signs  in  the  sun^  and  in  the  mooUy 
and  in  the  stars  ;  and  upon  the  earth  distress  of  nations, with 
perplexity  ;  the  sea  and  the  waves  roaring.  But  it  would, 
I  apprehend,  require  far  greater  talents  than  the  bp.  of 
Bristol  or  any  other  prelate  ever  possessed  to  shew,  how 
TvyoxPi  eB-vwv,  whicli  signifies  the  distress  of  the  nations  or  of 
the  Gentiles,  and  ouai^evvi,  which  denotes  either  the  habit- 
able earth  or  the  wide  extent  of  the  Roman  empire,  can  be 
applied  with  any  shew  of  reason  and  of  probability,  to  the 
Jewish  people  and  to  the  narrow  limits  of  Palestine. 


15  Grot,  in  Mat.  xxiv.  3.  16  On  the  Grand  Jpostacy,  p.  52. 


192  CHAP.  XXVIII. 

With  what  color  of  plausibility  the  encouragement  of 
Jesus  to  look  up,  and  lift  up  their  heads,  on  account  of  an 
approaching  deliverance,  can  be  applied,  as  bp.  Newton  and 
his  followers  have  applied  it,  to  the  period  when  Jerusalem 
was  destroyed,  I  am,  also,  altogether  unable  to  discern. 
They  cannot  consider  it  to  have  been  addressed  by  our 
Lord  to  his  disciples  in  the  character  of  Jews,  since  this 
was  the  fera,  when  the  descendants. of  Abraham  sustained  . 
a  complete  overthrow,  and  encountered  the  most  signal  ca- 
lamities :  nor  is  it  agreeable  to  the  veracity  of  his  prophe- 
tic character,  to  suppose  him  to  have  foretold,  that,  at  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  hour  of  the  deliverance  of 
the  Christians  would  approach,  though  it  is  a  well-known 
fact,  that  they  were  then  exposed,  and  for  a  va-y  long  pe- 
riod of  years  subsequent  to  that  time  continued  to  be  ex- 
posed, to  all  the  frowns  and  insults  of  the  world ;  to  the 
'powerful  enmity  of  the  priesthood,  and  to  the  persecutions 
of  the  civil  magistrate,  persecutions  cruel  in  their  effects 
and  frequent  in  their  recurrence. 

Our  Lord  says  (I. am  now  transcribing  from  Matthew), 
and  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  soji  of  man  in  heaven : 
and  then  shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn,  and  they 
shall  see  the  son  of  7nan  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  rvith 
power  and  great  glory.  The  expression  translated,  all  the 
tribes  of  the  earth,  bp.  Newton  asserts,  signifies  merely  the 
Jewish  tribes,  inhabiting  the  province  of  Judeai  and  he 
maintains,  that  this  passage  plainly  signifies,  '  that  the  de- 
ritruction  of  Jerusalem  will  be  such  a  remarkable  instance 
of  divine  vengeance,  such  a  signal  manifestation  of  Christ's 
power  and  glory,  that  all  the  Jewish  tribes  shall  mourn'^' 
But  unfortunately  for  this  interpretation,  it  is  completely 
at  variance  with  the  testimony  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
history.  So  far  from  authorising  us  to  conclude,  that  the 
Jews  discerned  or  acknov/leged,  in  the  destruction  of  their 
city,  any  display  of  Christ's  power  ;  or  that  they  attributed 
to  their  rejection  of  him,  and  the  cruel  death  which  he 

17  Vol.  II,  p.  283. 


CHAP  XXVIII.  193 

had  received  at  their  hands,  the  overthrow  of  their  armies, 
their  capital,  and  their  polity  :  it  informs  us,  that  they  still 
insulted  the  memory  of  their  crucified  Messiah,  and  still 
remained  hai'dened  in  infidelity. 

Dr.  Campbell,  speaking  of  that  verse  in  Luke  where  it 
is  said,  then  shall  there  be  signs  in  the  sun^  and  in  the  mooUy 
and  in  the  stars  ;  and  upon  the  earth  distress^  xvith  perplex^ 
ity  of  the  nations^  says,  '  the  prediction,  which  the  verse  un- 
der examination  introduces,  is  accurately  distinguished  by 
the  historian,  as  not  commencing  till  ajter  the  completion 
of  the  former.  It  was  not,  till  after  the  calamities  which 
were  to  befal  the  Jews  should  be  ended  ;  after  their  capital 
and  temple,  their  last  resource,  should  be  invested  and 
taken,  and  the  wretched  inhabitants  destroyed  or  carried 
captive  into'  all  nations  ;  after  Jerusalem  should  be  trodden 
by  the  Gentiles  ;  nay,  and  after  the  triumph  of  the  Gen- 
tiles should  be  brought  to  a  period  ;  that  the  prophecy  con- 
tained in  this  and  the  two  subsequent  verses  should  begin 
to  take  effect.  The  judicious  reader,  to  be  convinced  of 
this,  needs  only  give  the  passage  an  attentive  perusal'^' 
To  this  quotation  another  from  Mede  may  be  added.  To 
interpret  the  '  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven^  and  his  kingdom  then,  of  his  coming  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  is  contrary  to  the  context  of  our  Savi- 
our's prophecy  :  for  the  coming  of  Christ  to  destroy  Jeru- 
salem was  the  beginning  and  cause  of  that  great  and  long 
tribulation  of  that  people  ;  but  the  cojning  and  appearing  of 
the  Son  of  7nan  i?i  the  clouds  of  heaven  is  expressly  said 
should  be  after  it,  immediately  after  he  days  of  that  tribula- 
tion^ &c.  Matt.  xxiv.  29.  Mark  xiii.  24.'  To  the  same 
purpose  Luke  says,  after,  or  when  the  *  Times  of  the  Gen- 
tiles are  fidfilled^  then  shall  be  the  signs  in  the  sun  and 
tnoon^  and  then  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  a 


18  So  extremely  brief  are  Dr.   Campbell's  obsei  v.  tiisiS   on  our   Lord's 
propliecy,  that  the  passage  above,  to  every  word  of  which  I  subscribe. 

Vol.  IL  sb 


194  CHAP.  xKvm. 

cloud}^^  This  point  Mr.  Mede  had  closely  considered, 
and  the  foregoing  statement,  he  was  convinced,  was  clear 
and  incontrovertible.  But  some  one,  unacquainted  with 
the  character  of  this  great  commentator,  may  suppose,  that, 
however  profoundly  learned,  he  might,  notwithstanding,  be 
accustomed  to  frame  his  interpretations  of  scripture,  has- 
tily and  on  light  grounds.  To  the  consideration  of  such  a 
one  I  recommend  the  following  testimony  of  a  learned  pre- 
late. *  Cool,  deliberate,  and  severe,  in  forming  his  judg- 
ments, he  was  so  far  from  being  obsequiovis  to  the  fancies 
of  other  men,  that  he  was  determined  only  by  the  last  de- 
gree of  evidence,  to  acquiesce  in  any  conclusions  of  his 
own*°.' 

To  the  scholar,  who  is  disposed  to  pay  yet  farther  at- 
tention to  the  prophetic  discoveries  of  Jesus,  and  is  desir- 
ous to  study  every  verse  in  the  parallel  account  of  Matthew, 
as  well  as  that  prophecy  which  is  recorded  in  the  jcviith  ch. 
of  Luke",  I  recommend,  as  highly  worthy  of  his  perusal, 
three  chapters  of  the  learned  Brenius's  treatise,  De  Regno 
Ecclesice  Glorioso^, 


constitutes  a  large  part  of  them  ;  and  though  that  passage  is  accompa- 
nied with  no  doubts,  the  learned  translator,  nevertlieless,  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  it,  renders  the  o2d  verse,  verily  I  say  unto  you  that  this  generation 
shall  not  pass,  until  all  ^e  accomplished. 

19  P.  920. 

20  Such  is  the  language  of  Hurd  (vol.  II.  p.  124).  I  may  add,  that  his 
friend  Warburton,  speaking  of  the  reign  of  James  the  first,  entitles  Mede, 
•  the  greatest  divine  and  scholar  of  that  age.'  His  Works,  4to.  vol.  V- 
p.  451. 

21  From  v.  20— v.  37. 

22  Opera,  Amstelsdami.     1666.    Pars  I,  cap.  5, 7,  and  8. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  195 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  dispersion  and  restoration  of  the  jews  repeatedly 
foretold. 

TO  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  allusion  has  several 
times  been  incidently  made.  But  such  is  the  perspicuity, 
the  number,  and  the  importance,  of  the  passages  which 
foretell  this  event,  that  the  subject  deserves  to  be  illustrated 
in  a  separate  chapter.  The  predictions  relative  to  this  peo- 
ple, which  have  already  been  accomplished,  are,  observes 
bishop  Newton,  '  a  sufficient  pledge  and  earnest  of  what  is 
yet  to  come'.' 

Various  are  the  passages  of  Holy  Writ,  which  point  out 
the  last  and  greatest  of  their  dispersions.  With  respect  to 
its  extent,  what  similitude  could  have  been  more  expressive 
than  that  of  the  prophet  Amos*  ?  /  zvill  sift  the  house  of 
Israel  amo7ig  all  nations,  like  as  corn  is  sifted  in  a  sieve. 
With  respect  to  the  manner  in  which  they  have  been  treat- 
ed, what  denunciation  could  have  been  more  correctly  ful- 
filled, than  that  of  Jeremiah^  ?  /  tvill  deliver  theyn  to  be 
removed  into  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  for  their  hurt^ 
to  he  a  reproach  and  a  proverb^  a  taunt  and  a  curse,  in  all 
places  whither  I  shall  drive  them. 

The  predictions  of  Moses,  the  founder  of  the  Jewish 
polity,  recorded  in  the  xxviiith  chap,  of  Deuteronomy, 
must  also  be  admitted  to  be  wonderfully  perspicuous  and 
circumstantial.  Nor  did  they  by  any  means  receive  their 
complete  accomplishment  in  the  events  of  the  Babylonish 
captivity.  If,  said  this  divine  law-giver,  addressing  him- 
self to  the  Jews,  you  forsake  the  living  God,  then  shall  he 
bring  a  nation  against  thee  from  far,,  from  the  end  of  the 


1  Vol.  I.  p.  240.  2  IX.  9. 

3  XXIV.  9. 


196  CHAP.    XXIX. 

earthy  as  swift  as  the  eagle  fiieth :  a  nation^  whose  tongue 
thou  shall  not  understand:  a  nation  of  ferce  countenance^ 
ivhich  shall  not  regard  the  person  of  the  old^  nor  shexv  favor 
to  the  young.  And  he  shall  eat  the  fruit  of  thy  cattle^  and 
the  fruit  of  thy  land.  And  he  shall  besiege  thee  in  all  thy 
gates,  until  thy  high  and  fenced  -walls  come  doxvn^xvherein 
thou  trustesty  throughout  all  thy  laiid. 

The  nation,  spoken  of  by  the  prophet,  was  to  come  from 
far,  from  the  end  of  the  earth.  '  This  shews,'  says  bishop 
Patrick,  that  '  he  speaks  of  the  Romans,  rather  than  of  the 
Chaldeans,  who  did  not  come  from  far,  much  less  from  the 
end  of  the  earth: — whereas  the  Romans  by  whom  they 
were  last  destroyed,  came  literally  from  far,  and  from  the 
end  of  the  earth;  particularly  Julius  Sevcrus  was  called  by 
the  emperor  Hadrian  to  their  destruction  out  of  this  island 
of  Britain;  wherein  Vespasian  also  had  given  great  proof 
of  his  conduct.  And  Hadrian  himself,  and  Trajan,  by 
whom  they  were  still  more  crushed,  after  Vespasian  had 
destroj^ed  their  city  and  temple,  were  both  Spaniards  by 
birth.  And,  therefore,  Manasseh  Ben  Israel  says  peremp- 
torily, in  his  book  de  Termino  Vitce  (lib.  III.  sect.  3),  this 
is  to  be  understood  of  the  soldiers  in  Vespasian's  army, 
which  he  brought  out  of  England,  France,  and  Spain,  and 
other  remote  parts  of  the  world.'  '  The  Romans  too,'  says 
bp.  Newton,  '  for  the  rapidity  of  their  conquests  might 
very  well  be  compared  to  eagles,  and  perhaps  not  without 
an  allusion  to  the  standard  of  the  Roman  armies,  which 
was  an  eagle*.'  Not  only  the  eagles,  and  the  distance  from 
Rome,  says  Dr.  Apthorp,  '  discriminate  the  Romans  from 
the  Chaldeans,  but  also  the  language,  for  that  of  the  latter 
was  only  a  dialect  of  the  Hebrew^.' 

This  distant  people,  says  the  Jewish  legislator,  shall  be 
of  fierce  countenance,  not  regarding  the  person  of  the  old, 
nor  shewing  favor  to  the  young.  To  the  conduct  of  the 
Romans  these  particulars,  says  bishop  Patrick,  are  strictly 
applicable  ;  for  they  were  '  a  people  stern,  fierce,  undavmt- 

4  V6l.  I.  p.  179.  5  Vol.  I,  p.  228. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  197 

eel,'  who  '  inflexibly  pursued  their  designs.'  The  passage 
that  follows  is  from  bp.  Newton.  '  When  Vespasian  en- 
tered Gadara,  Josephus  saith,  that  *'  he  slew  all,  man  by 
man,  the  Romans  showing  mercy  to  no  age,  out  of  hatred 
to  the  nation,  and  remembrance  of  their  former  injuries," 
The  like  slaughter  was  made  at  Gamala.  "  For  no  body 
escaped  besides  two  women,  and  they  escaped  by  conceal- 
ing themselves  from  the  rage  of  the  Romans.  For  they  did 
not  so  much  as  spare  young  children,  but  every  one,  at  that 
time,  snatching  up  many,  cast  them  down  from  the  cita- 
deP."  Their  enemies  were  also  to  besiege  and  take  their 
cities.  The  Romans,  as  we  may  read  in  Josephus's  history 
of  the  Jewish  war,  demolished  several  fortified  places,  l^e- 
fore  they  besieged  and  destroyed  Jerusalem.  And  the 
Jews  may  very  well  be  said  to  have  trusted  in  their  high 
and  fenced  tvalls^  for  they  seldom  ventured  a  battle  in  the 
open  field.'  We  read  also,  that,  in  the  reign  of  Hadrian, 
*■  50  of  their  strongest  castles,  and  985  of  their  best  towns, 
were  sacked  and  demolished'.' 

Moses  adds  in  the  verses  Avhich  follow,  the  man's  eye 
shall  be  evil  tOTvards  his  brother^  and  towards  the  ruife  of  his 
bosom  ;  because  he  hath  nothing  left  him  in  the  siege^  and  in 
the  straightness^  rvherewith  thine  enemies  shall  distress  thee 
in  all  thy  gates.  And  in  like  manner  the  woman's  eye  shall 
be  evil  torvard  the  husband  of  her  bosom^  and  tozvard  her 
so7iy  and  toward  her  daughter.  This  also  was  fulfilled,  and 
in  the  most  literal  manner.  I  know  not  whether  the  ex- 
tremities of  famine,  to  which  the  Jews  were  reduced  in  the 
memorable  siege  of  their  metropolis  by  Titus,  are  to  be 
fully  paralleled  in  the  records  of  history.  '  Women,'  says 
Josephus,  '  snatched  the  food  out  of  the  very  mouths  of 
their  husbands,  and  sons  of  their  fathers,  and  (what  is  most 
lamentable)  mothers  of  their  infants.'  And  '  in  ever}^ 
house,  if  any  semblance  of  food  appeared,  a  battle  ensued, 
and  those  who  were  the  dearest  friends,  snatching  away  the 


6  Bel.  Jud.  1.  III.  c.  7.  LIV.  c.i. 

7  Newton,  vol.  I.  p.  178 ;  vol.  II.  p.  296. 


198  CHAP,    XXIX, 

miserable  provisions  of  life,  fought  with  one  another.'  And 
we  read  in  the  same  author,  that  a  woman  of  rank  and  opu- 
lence killed  and  eat  her  own  infant-cliild\ 

But  the  prophet  does  not  foretell  merely  the  greatness  of 
their  sufferings  during  the  siege.  What  should  happen  to 
them  at  a  subsequent  period  he  also  predicts  :  the  unexam- 
pled dispersion  they  should  experience,  the  universal  oppro- 
briums with  Avhich  they  should  be  assailed,  and  the  cruel 
persecutions  which  they  should  encounter.  Te  shall,  says 
Moses,  be  plucked  from  off  the  land  xvhhher  thou  goest  to 
possess^.  And  the  Lord  shall  scatter  thee  among  all  people^ 
from  one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto  the  other^°. — And  among 
these  nations  shah  thou  find  no  case,  neither  shall  the  sole  of 
thy  feet  have  rest:  but  the  Lord  shall  give  thee  there  a  trem- 
bling heart",  and  failing  of  eyes,  and  sorrow  of  miiid.  And 
thy  life  shall  hang  in  doubt  before  thee ;  and  thou  shalt  fear 
day  and  night,  and  shalt  have  none  assurance  of  thy  life. 
In  the  morning  thou  shalt  say.  Would  God  it  were  even  I 
and  at  even  thou  shalt  say.  Would  God  it  rvere  morning! — 
And  thou  shalt  be  oppressed  and  spoiled  evermore. — The 
Lord  will  make  thy  plagues  xvonderful, — even  great  plagues, 
and  of  long  continuance. — And  thou  shalt  become  an  asto- 
nishment, a  proverb,  and  a  by-word,  among  all  nations 
xvhither  the  Lord  shall  lead  thee. 

It  is  from  the  xxviiith  ch.  of  Deuteronomy'%  that  all 
these  remarkable  passages,  which  have  been  quoted  from 

8  Bel.  Jud.  1.  V.  c.  10 ;  I.  VI.  c.  3. 

9  Moses  elsewhere  says,  in  the  name  of  the  Supreme  Being',  /  luill 
scatter  you  among  the  heathen,  and  luill  dravs  out  a  siuord  after  you  ■■  and  your 
land  shall  be  desolate,  and  your  cities  waste.  Lev.  xxvi.  o3. 

10  In  V.  25,  of  the  same  chapter,  Moses  says,  and  thou  shalt  be  removed 
into  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth. 

11  The  same  idea  is  elsewhere  given  by  Moses  in  a  more  expanded 
form,  and  with  great  felicity  of  expression.  Upon  them  that  are  left  alive 
of  you  I  will  send  a  faintyiess  into  their  hearts,  in  the  lands  of  their  enemies  ,■ 
and  the  sound  of  a  shaken  leaf  shall  chase  them;  and  they  shall  fee,  as  feeing 

from,  a  sisiord ;   and  they  shall  fall  when  no7te  pursueth.    Lev.  xxvi.  56. 

12  Deut.  xxviii.  37,  49 — 52,  59 — &7.  Moses  says  in  another  place.  And 
yet  for  all  that,  when  they  be  in  the  land  of  their  enemies,  I  will  not  cast  them 


CHAP.   XXIX.  199 

Moses,  are  taken.  *  Had  any  thing  like  this,  in  Moses's 
time,'  asks  Dr.  Clarke,  '  ever  happened  to  any  nation  ?  Or 
was  there  in  nature  any  probability  that  any  such  thing 
should  ever  happen  to  any  people  ?  That,  when  they  were 
conquered  by  their  enemies,  and  led  into  captivity,  they 
should  neither  continue  in  the  place  of  their  captivity,  nor 
be  swallowed  up  and  lost  among  their  conquerors,  but  be 
scattered  among  all  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  hated  by 
all  nations  for  many  ag^s,  and  yet  continue  a  people  ?  Or 
could  any  description  of  the  Jews,  written  at  this  day,  pos- 
sibly be  a  more  exact  and  lively  picture  of  the  state  they 
have  noxu  been  in  for  many  ages ;  than  this  prophetic  de- 
scription, given  by  Moses,  more  than  3000  years  ago'^  r' 

*  Here,'  says  bp.  Newton,  *  are  instances  of  prophecies, 
of  prophecies  delivered  above  three  thousand  years  ago, 
and  yet  as  we  see  fulfilling  in  the  world  at  this  very  time : 
and  what  stronger  proofs  can  we  desire  of  the  divine  le- 
gation of  Moses  ?  How  these  instances  may  affect  others, 
I  know  not ;  but  for  myself  I  must  acknowlege,  they  not 
only  convince,  but  amaze  and  astonish  me  beyond  expres- 
sion"*.' *  Chrysostom,'  says  Dr.  Worthington'^,  '  often 
presses  the  argument  from  the  completion  of  the  prophecies 
concerning  the  Jews,  having  continued  so  long  in  his  time- 
How  much  greater  strength  must  this  argument  have  ac- 
quired since'^.' 

What  bishop  Newton  has  related  respecting  the  origin 
of  his  Dissertations  on  Prophecy,  in  the  dedication  pre-' 
fixed  to  them,  may  with  pertinence  be  alleged,  after  the 
citation  of  the  memorable  prophecy  of  Moses.  To  the 
statement  of   the   author  of  the  Dissertations  the   infidel 

aivay,  neither  luiil  I  abhor  them,  to  destroy  them  utterly,  and  to  break  my  cove- 
nant with  them.   Lev.  xxvi.  44. 

13  End.  of  Nat.  and  Rev.  Rel.  1738,  p.  433.  For  a  minute  account  of 
the  fulfilment  of  all  the  prophecies  relating-  to  the  Jews,  in  their  dispersed 
and  persecuted  state,  Jortin,  bp.  Newton,  and  Ba.snag-e  may  be  consulted. 

14  Vol.  I.  p.  199. 

15  Vol.  II.  p.  33. 

16  Orat.  III.  in  Judaeos,  torn.  VI.  p.  337.  ed.  Savil. 


200  CHAP.    XXIX. 

would  do  well  to  attend.  Should  he  unite  in  himself  the 
abilities  of  a  Hume,  a  Gibbon  and  a  Voltaire,  he  would  not 
be  equal  to  the  task  of  demonstrating  the  insoliditji^  of  the 
bishop's  conclusion.  '  What  first  suggested  the  design 
were  some  conversations  formerly  with  a  great  general'^, 
who  had  for  many  years  the  chief  commands  in  the  army, 
and  was  a  man  of  good  understanding,  and  of  some  read- 
ing, but  unhappily  had  no  regard  for  revealed  religion  or 
the  clergy.  When  the  prophecies  were  urged  as  a  proof 
of  revelation,  he  constantly  derided  the  notion,  asserted 
that  there  was  no  such  thing,  and  that  the  prophecies  which 
were  pretended  Avere  written  after  the  events.  He  was  in- 
formed, that  though  such  a  thing  might  with  less  scruple  and 
more  confidence  be  affirmed  of  some  prophecies  fulfilled 
long  ago,  yet  it  could  never  be  proved  of  any,  the  contrary 
might  be  proved  almost  to  a  demonstration :  but  it  could 
not  be  so  much  as  affirmed  of  several  prophecies  without 
manifest  absurdity  ;  for  there  were  several  prophecies  in 
scripture,  which  were  not  fulfilled  till  these  latter  ages,  and 
were  fulfilling  even  now,  and  consequently  could  not  be 
framed  after  the  events,  but  undeniably  were  written  and 
published  many  ages  before.  He  was  startled  at  this,  and 
said,  he  must  acknowlege,  that  if  this  point  could  be  proved 
to  satisfaction,  there  would  be  no  arguing  against  such  plain 
matter  of  fact;  it  would  certainly  convince  him,  and  he 
believed  would  be  the  readiest  way  to  convince  every  rea- 
sonable man,  of  the  truth  of  revelation.' 

There  are  subjects,  which  to  contemplate  with  what  is 
called  philosophic  indifference  (a  favorite  and  perverted  ex- 
pression among  a  certain  class  of  persons),  infallibly  indi- 
cates a  want  of  feeling  and  a  deficiency  of  discernment ; 
betrays  the  incontestable  marks  of  an  unnatural  insensibi- 
lity to  the  best  interests  of  mankind,  and  of  a  blind  disre- 
gard to  their  own  most  important   concerns   and  ultimate 


17  In  the  recently  published  Discourses  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Robert  Gray, 
he  is  said  to  have  been  Marshal  'Wade. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  201 

destination.  Prophecy  and  Revelation  are  doubtless  de- 
serving of  being  ranked  in  this  class  of  subjects.  The 
fact,  however,  is,  that  infidels  are  generally  chargeable  with 
omitting  to  consult  the  pages  of  prophecy  at  all ;  and,  when 
they  do  consult  them,  they  bring  not  along  with  them  that 
degree  of  previous  knowlege,  without  which,  in  many 
cases,  it  were  vain  to  attempt  to  arrive  at  their  meaning. 
Is  it  then  to  be  wondered,  that  viewing  them,  as  they  do, 
with  an  eye,  rendered  dim  by  indifference,  jaundiced  by 
prejudice,  and  clouded  by  ignorance,  they  should,  as  they 
hastily  inspect  them,  discover  no  solid  ground  on  which 
to  stand  ?  Is  it  not  to  be  expected,  that  amid  this  re- 
ligious apathy  and  neglect  of  inquir}^,  they  will  still  wan- 
der in  the  labyrinths  of  error  and  the  perplexing  paths  of 
infidelity ;  and,  remaining  involved  in  its  melancholy  gloom, 
will  still  tread  over  the  tremulous  surface  of  doubt  and  un- 
certainty ;  without  being  able  to  descry,  through  the  mists 
of  futurity,  mists  which  the  light  of  revelation  enables  man 
to  penetrate,  those  mansions  of  immortality  and  happiness, 
of  exalted  virtue  and  improved  intellect,  which  are  situated 
beyond  the  confines  of  the  grave  and  this  sublunary  world, 
and  to  which  the  Christian  looks  forward  with  such  steady 
confidence  and  such  transporting  hope  ? 

But  I  return  to  the  subject  of  the  chapter.  The  stub- 
born incredulity  of  the  Jews,  and  the  extraordinary  deso- 
lation of  their  land,  Isaiah  thus  describes.  And  he  said. 
Go,  and  tell  this  people^  hear  ye  indeed^  but  understand  not ; 
and  see  ye  indeed^  but  perceive  not.  Make^^  the  heart  of 
his  people  fat^  and  make  their  eyes  heavy ^  and  shut  their 
eyes;  lest  they  see -with  their  eyes^  and  hear  with  their  ears^ 
a?id  understaiid  xvith  their  hearty  and  convert^  and  be  healed. 
Then  said  I,  Lord  how  long  ?  And  he  answered^  until  the 
cities  be  wasted  without  i?ihabitant,  and  the  houses  without 
maUy  and  the  land  be  utterly  desolate.  And  the  Lord  have 
removed  vien  far  away^  and  there  be  a  great  forsaking  in 

18  •  In  the  style  of  scripture  the  prophets  are  said  to  do  what  they  de- 
clare ixill  be  done.'    Bp.  Newton  in  loc.  vol.  I.  p.  332. 

Vol.  IL  c  c 


302  GHAP.    XXIX. 

the  midst  of  the  land^*.  *  Here  is,'  says  bp.  Newton,  '  a 
remarkable  gradation  in  the  denouncing  of  these  judgments. 
Not  only  Jerusalem  and  the  cities  should  be  wasted  without 
i?ihabitanty  but  even  the  single  houses  should  be  without 
fnan;  and  not  only  the  houses  of  the  cities  should  be  with- 
out man ;  but  even  the  country  should  be  utterly  desolate  ; 
and  not  only  the  people  should  be  removed  out  of  the  land^ 
but  the  ior^ should  remove  them  far  away  ;  and  they  should 
not  be  removed  for  a  short  period,  but  there  should  be  a 
great  or  rather  a  long-  forsaking  in  the  midst  of  the  land. 
And  hath  not  the  world  seen  all  these  particulars  exactly 
fulfilled  ?  Have  not  the  Jews  labored  under  a  spiritual  blind- 
ness and  infatuation  in  hearing  but  not  understandings  in 
seeing  but  ?iot  perceiving  the  Messiah,  after  the  accom- 
plishment of  so  many  prophecies,  after  the  performance  of 
so  many  miracles  ?  Hath  not  their  land  been  utterly  deso- 
late ?  Have  they  not  been  removed  far  away  into  the  most 
distant  parts  of  the  eai'th  ?  And  hath  not  their  removal  or 
banishment  been  now  of  near  1700  years  duration?  And 
do  they  not  still  continue  deaf  and  blind,  obstinate  and  un- 
believing ?  The  Jews,  at  the  time  of  the  delivery  of  this 
prophecy,  gloried  in  being  the  peculiar  church  and  people 
of  God  :  and  would  any  Jew  of  himself  have  thouglit  or 
have  said,  that  his  nation  would  in  process  of  time  become 
an  infidel  and  reprobate  nation,  infidel  and  reprobate  for 
many  ages,  oppressed  by  men,  and  forsaken  by  God  ?  It 
was  above  750  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  that  Isaiah 
predicted  these  things  ;  and  how  could  he  have  predicted 
them,  unless  he  had  been  illuminated  by  the  divine  vision  ; 
or  could  they  have  succeeded  accordingly,  unless  the  spirit 
of  prophecy  had  been  the  spirit  of  God^°.' 

19  VI.  9—12. 

20  Bp.  Newton,  vol.  I.  p.  233.  '  That  a  country  should  be  depopulated 
and  desolated  by  the  incursions  and  depredations  of  foreign  enemies  is,' 
says  the  prelate  in  another  place  (p.  222),  'nothing  wonderful,  but  that  it 
should  lie  so  many  ages  in  this  miserable  condition  is  more  than  man 
could  foresee,  and  could  be  revealed  only  by  God-' 


CHAP.    XXIX.  203 

*  That  the  Jews,'  says  the  bishop  of  Worcester, '  should 
continue  for  so  many  ages  under  such  treatment,'  as  they 
have  experienced ;  '  every  where  and  always  spurned,  re- 
viled, oppressed  ;  yet  neither  worn  out  by  this  usage  }  nor 
induced  by  it  to  renounce  their  offensive  profession,  and 
take  refuge  in  the  mass  of  people  among  whom  they  live  ; 
that  neither  time,  nor  custom,  nor  suffering,  should  get  the 
better  of  their  bigotry  or  patience  ;  but  that  they  should 
still  subsist,  a  numerous,  a  distinct,  a  wretched  people,  as 
they  do  to  this  day  ;  all  this  hath  something  prodigious  in 
it,  which  the  common  principles  of  human  nature  will  not 
easily  explain. — They  dirive  under  their  oppressions,  and 
seem  to  multiply  amidst  their  distresses  ;  as  if  the  order  of 
things  were  reversed  in  regard  to  them,  and  the  same  causes 
operated  to  the  conservation  of  this  people,  which  tend  so 
naturally  to  the  waste  and  destruction  of  every  other.  That 
small  colonies  of  men,  transported  into  strange  and  popu- 
lous nations,  should  preserve  distinct  existence,  and  not 
insensibly  moulder  away  and  mix  themselves  with  their 
numerous  native  masters  ;  this,  I  think,  is  without  exam- 
ple in  the  history  of  mankind.  If  the  Jews  might  be  ex- 
pected to  abound  any  where,  it  should  methinks  be  in  Ju- 
dea ;  where  the  sight  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  memory 
of  their  past  fortunes,  might  invigorate  their  prejudices, 
and  perpetuate  their  attachment  to  the  Jewish  name  and 
worship.  But  it  so  happens,  that  the  number  of  Jews  in 
that  country  hath  now  for  many  ages  been  inconsiderable, 
while  they  swarm  in  every  other".' 

The  drops  of  rain  which  fall,  nay  the  great  rivers  which 
flow  into  the  ocean,  are  soon  mingled  and  lost  in  that  im- 
mense body  of  waters  :  and  the  same  in  all  human  proba- 
bility  would  have  been  the  fate  of  the  Jews,  they  would 
have  been  mingled  and  lost  in  the  common  mass  of  man- 
kind J  but  on  the  contrary  they  flow  into  all  parts  of  the 
world,  mix  with  all  nations,  and  yet  keep  separate  from 
all.     They  still  live   as  a  distinct  people,  and  yet  they  no 


1:1  Hurd,  vol.  I.  p.  177,  182,  18:?. 


204  CHAP.    XXIX. 

where  live  according  ^to  their  own  laws,  no  where  elect 
their  own  magistrates,  no  where  enjoy  the  full  exercise  of 
their  religion".' 

'  Religions,'  says  Basnage,  *-  triumph  under  the  protec- 
tion of  a  conqueror  ;  they  languish  and  sink  with  sinking 
monarchies.  Paganism,  which  once  overspread  the  face 
of  the  earth,  is  extinct.  The  Christian  church,  glorious  in 
its  martyrs,  yet  was  considerably  diminished  by  the  perse- 
cutions to  which  it  was  exposed  ;  and  the  breaches,  made 
in  it  by  those  acts  of  violence,  it  was  not  easy  to  repair. 
Here,  however,  we  behold  a  church  hated  and  persecuted 
for  seventeen  centuries  ;  but  nevertheless  sustaining  itself 
and  widely  extended.  Often  have  kings  employed  the  se- 
verity of  edicts  and  the  hand  of  executioners  to  ruin  it. 
Seditious  multitudes,  by  means  of  massacres,  have  com- 
mitted outrages  against  it  still  more  tragical.  Princes  and 
People,  Pagans,  Mahometans,  and  Christians,  at  variance 
in  so  many  things,  have  coalesced  in  the  design  of  exter- 
minating it,  and  have  been  unable  to  succeed.  The  Busk 
of  Moses^  surrounded  with  flames,  perpetually  burns,  and 
is  never  consumed.  At  diiferent  periods,  the  Jews  have 
been  expelled  from  all  parts  of  the  world  ;  which  hath  only 
served  to  spread  them  in  all  regions.  From  age  to  age 
they  have  been  exposed  to  persecutions  and  misery^^.  Yet 
still  they  subsist,  in  spite  of  the  ignominy  and  the  hatred 
which  hath  pursued  them  in  all  places  ;  whilst  the  greatest 
monarchies  are  fallen,  and  nothing  remains  of  them  besides 
the  name**.' 

In  addition  tO  those  important  facts,  the  length  acd  the  se- 
veriti/  of  their  sufferings,  there  are  some  other  circumstances, 
not  perhaps  entirely  unworthy  of  being  noted,  which  serve 


22  Bp.  Newton,  vol.  I.  p.  215. 

23  '  The  account  of  the  Jews  who  have  been  pkmdcred,  sent  naked 
into  banishment,  starved,  tortured,  left  to  perisli  in  prisons,  hang-ed,  and 
burnt  by  Christians,  would  fill  man>*  volumes.'  Jortin's  Rem  on  Ecd 
Hist.  vol.  II.  p.  420. 

24  Blst.  dts  Juifs,  VI.  i. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  205 

to  augment  our  wonder  at  the  Jews  still  remaining  uninter- 
mingled  with  the  natives,  and  with  the  sects  of  the  various 
climes  which  they  inhabit.  '  They  profess  a  religion  found- 
ed on  temporal  promises  only  ;  and  how  miserably  these 
have  failed  them,  the  experience  of  many  ages  hath  now 
shewn.'  They  '  are  shut  out  from  the  only  country  in  the 
world,  where  the  several  rites  and  ordinances  of  their  reli- 
gion can  be  regularly  and  lawfully  observed.'  They  '  have 
besides,  the  sensible  mortification  of  knowing,  that  all  their 
brethren  of  the  dispersion  are  every  where  in  equal  distress 
with  themselves  ;  and  that  there  is  not  one  Jewish  state  or 
sovereignty  subsisting  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth^^.' 

From  considering  the  present  extraordinary  situation  of 
the  Jews,  and  the  prophecies  that  foretell  their  dispersion, 
I  shall  pass  on  to  some  of  those,  which  assert  their  future 
restoration. 

'  About  the  time  of  the  fall  of  the  Othman  empire  and 
of  the  Christian  Antichrist,  the  Jews,'  says  bp.  Newton, 
*  shall  turn  to  the  Lord,  and  be  restored  to  their  own  land. 
Itviumerable  are  the  passages  concerning  the  conversion 
and  restoration  of  this  people^.'  This,  observes  Mr. 
Lowth,  '  is  plainly  foretold  by  most  of  the  prophets  of  the 
Old  Testament^^.'  '  That  the  Jews,'  says  Dr.  Priestley, 
*"  shall  return  to  their  own  country,  about  the  lime  of  the 
commencement  of  the  millennium  ;  that  they  shall  possess 
it  many  years  in  peace,  and  be  a  very  flourishing  nation, 
seem  to  be  most  distinctly  foretold  in  many  prophecies  of 
the  Old  Testament^*.' 

From  those  words  of  Christ,  that  fenisalem  shall  be 
trodden  doxvn  of  the  Gentiles^  until  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles 
be  fulfilled,  says  Wolzogenius,  '  it  clearly  appears,  that  to 
the  oppression  of  the  Jewish  nation  by  the  Gentiles  a  certain 
termination  and  limit  is  placed;  so  that  it  is  unquestionable, 
that  they  will  not  remain  for  ever  in  that  state  of  servitude, 

25  Hurd,  vol.  I.  p.  180.  26  Vol   III.  p.  389 

2rOnIsa.XI.il. 

?8  Institutes  of  Nat.  and  Rev.  Rel.  vol.  II.  p.  420. 


206  CHAP.  XXIX> 

but  at  some  period  will  be  emancipated  from  this  yoke."* 
To  the  same  purpose  speaks  bp.  Newton.  '  When  the  Thnes 
of  the  Gentiles  shall  be  fulfilled^  then  the  expression  implies 
that  the  Jews  shall  be  restored :  and  for  what  reason,  can 
we  believe,  that  though  they  are  dispersed  among  all  na- 
tions, yet — they  are  kept  distinct  from  all,  but  for  the  far- 
ther manifestation  of  God's  purposes  towards  them^^?' 
yerusalem^  says  bp.  Hurd,  was  '  to  be  trodden  down  of  the 
Gentiies^°-)  until  the  Ti7nes  of  the  Gentiles  should  befulfilled"^^. 
Nor  say,  that  this  last  prophecy  is  indefinite,  for  the  Times 
of  the  Gentiles  is  a  period  well  known  in  the  prophetic  wi'it- 
ings;  a  period  of  long  duration  indeed,  as  the  event  hath 
shewn  J  yet  a  period,  marked  out  by  other  prophecies  (which 
may  come,  in  turn,  to  be  considered  in  this  Lecture)  no 
less  distinctly  than  their  other  captivities  had  been^^'  As 
the  learned  prelate  has  not  thought  proper  to  treat  farther 
on  the  subject,  I  shall,  with  respect  to  it,  quote  from  the 
Discourse  of  Mr.  Mede,  on  the  Apostacy  of  the  Latter 
Times^  which  the  bishop  entitles  '  exquisite  and  unanswer- 
able.' '  Until  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled:  that  is 
(as  was  said  before)  until  the  Monarchies  of  the  Gen- 
tiles should  be  finished.     For  the  Times  of  the  Gentiles 


29  Vol.  II.  314 

30  Since  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  and  dui-ing  a  course  of 
above  1700  years,  it  has  accordingly  never  once  been  in  possession  of  the 
Jews,  unless  indeed  it  be  fact  (and  this  is  a  matter  disputed),  that  in  tlieir 
rebellion  against  Hadrian,  a  small  number  of  them  occupied  it  for  a  few- 
months  or  for  about  the  period  of  a  year.  It  has  successively  |?een  under 
the  dominion  of  the  Romans,  Saracens,  Franks,  Mamalukes,  and  Turks. 
*  And  there  is  not  the  least  apparent  probability,'  says  Mr.  Evanson,  'that 
its  condition  will  be  altered,  till  the  world  shall  see  that  Grand  Revolution 
in  human  affairs  take  place,  at  the  period  denominated  in  all  the  Christian 
scriptiu-es  the  coming  of  yesus  Christ,  and  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  upon  earth.'     On  the  Dissonance  of  the  Evangelists,  p.  101. 

31  As  Christ  denominates  the  period  in  which  we  now  live,  the  Times 
of  the  Gentiles,  it  is  plain,  that  those  principles  of  practice,  and  those  sys- 
tems of  religion,  which  at  present  have  the  ascendant,  are  regarded,  in 
the  eye  of  prophecy,  as  unworthy  of  the  name  of  Christian,  and  as  in  fact 
htm^  gentile  or  heathen. 

32  Vol.  1.  p.  174. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  207 

are  that  last  period  of  the  Roman  kingdom  prophecied  of,  a 
Time,  Times,  and  half  a  Time'^^.^  Now  these,  Mede  elser 
where  observes,  are  equivalent  to  three  prophetic  years  and 
a  half,  or  1260  ordinary  years.  But,  as  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  that  the  conclusion  of  the  1260  years  is  the  period, 
when  the  monarchies  of  the  Gentiles  will  be  materially  en- 
feebled and  endangered,  and  not  that  when  they  will  be 
universally  overthrown  and  destroyed,  the  times  of  the 
Gentiles  mentioned  by  Christ  do,  perhaps,  not  merely  con- 
tain the  1260  years,  during  which  antichristianism  and 
tyranny  were  triumphantly  to  prevail,  but  likewise  that 
shorter  and  subsequent  period,  during  which  antichristian 
oppression  is  to  maintain  a  partial  ascendency,  and  which  is 
immediately  to  precede  the  downfal  of  the  corrupt  systems 
of  power  established  in  Europe. 

Whilst  the  memorable  declaration  of  Jesus,  that  yenisa- 
lem  shall  be  trodden  doxvn  of  the  Gentiles,  is  in  the  xxist  ch. 
of  Luke  and  the  24th  verse,  he  says  in  the  22d  verse,  of  the 
same  chapter,  these  be  the  days  of  vengeance,  that  all  things 
xvhich  are  -written  inay  befidflled.  Now  '  where  were  these 
things  written,'  asks  bp.  Chandler-'*,  'but  in  Daniel,  whoni 
Christ  cites  by  name  in  the  beginning  of  this  discourse^^  V 
And  our  Lord,  as  the  learned  prelate  has  observed,  refers 
in  particular  to  the  two  last  verses  of  the  ixth  chapter  of 
Daniel,  where  speaking  of  Jerusalem  and  the  coming  of 
the  Romans  to  besiege  it,  he  says,  and  the  people  of  the 
prince  that  shall  come  shall  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctii- 


33  P.  873.  '  yerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles,  until  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled,  i.  e.'  says  Mr.  Winston,  '  till  the  times 
allotted  by  the  divine  providence,  for  the  dominion  of  the  four  Gentile  and 
idolatrous  monarchies,  be  fulfilled.'  p.  70.  In  like  manner  Brenius  de- 
clares, that  these  times  ivill  be  fulfilled,  when  the  destruction  of  the  monar- 
chies, predicted  by  Daniel,  shall  have  taken  place.  See  the  same  observed 
by  Dr.  Wells,  by  bp.  Newton  (vol.  JI.  p.  314),  and  by  Mr,  Lowth  on  Dan, 
ix.  27. 

34  Def.  of  Christianity,  p.  359. 

25  When  ye,  therefore,  shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation,  spoken  of  by 
Jianiel,  the  prophet,  8;c.  Mat.  xxiv.  15. 


208  CHAP.    XXIX. 

ary ;  and- — he  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  the  oblation  to 
cease;  and  with  the  overspreading  of  abominations  he  shall 
make  it  desolate^  even  until  the  consummation^  and  that  de- 
termined^ shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolator^^.  I  now  give 
the  explanation.  And  the  Roman  army  shall  come  to  de- 
stroy Jerusalem  and  its  temple  ;  they  shall  cause  its  sacri- 
fices and  its  offerings  completely  to  cease  ;  with  their  ido- 
latrous armies"  they  shall  render  it  desolate  j  and  the  land 
shall  continue^*  to  be  laid  waste  and  overspread  with  abomi- 
nations, till  the  period  appointed  for  their  being  consum- 
mated arrive  ;  and,  that  determined  aera  being  come,  deso- 
lation shall  overwhelm  the  desolators  themselves.  A  doubt 
here  arises,  to  whom  does  the  expression  the  prince^  here 
allude?  The  people  of  the  prince^  says  Dr.  Weils,  are  'the 
people  of  the  Roman  empire,  or  Roman  army  under  Titus ;' 
and  it  is  of  them  he  observes,  that  the  pronoun  he^  which 
afterwards  occurs,  is  to  be  understood.  But,  by  the  people 
of  the  prince  that  shall  come^  Mede  understands  the  future 
people  of  the  INIcssiah.  The  two  opinions  do  not,  however, 
stand  widely  separate  ;  for  the  people  of  the  Messiah,  says 
Mede,  signify  '  the  people  of  the  Roman  empire,  where 
Christ  was  principally  to  have  his  church  and  kingdom, 
whilst  Israel  should  be  rejected^^.'  In  like  manner  '  bishop 
Lloyd  corrects  the  common  translation  thus,  the  princess 
(i.  e.  the  ^&^?,\2ih''s)  future  people. — This  people  that  learn- 
ed prelate  understands  to  be  the  Romans  and  their  empire, 
which  was  the  seat  of  the  Christian  church*°.' 

The  quotation  which  follows  is  from  bp.  Chandler.  What 
is  in  Daniel,  '  even  until  the  consuynmatioii^  and  that  deter- 
mined^ shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolator^  is  interpreted  by 

36  The  last  word  I  gave,  as  rendered  by  Dr.  Wells,  bishop  Lloyd,  and 
bishop  Chandler. 

37  What  is  translated  overspreading  of  abominations  is  perhaps  a  plu-ase 
of  general  application.  It  signifies,  according  to  Mede,  *an  army  of  ido- 
latrous Gentiles.'  p.  870- 

38  This  desolation,  says  Mede  (in  loc),  would  '  contiuue  until  the  mo- 
narchies of  the  Gentiles  shoidd  be  finished.'  p.  8/3. 

39  P-   868  40  See  Mr.  Lowth  in  loc. 


CHAP.    XXIX.  209 

Christ,  Jerusalem  is  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles^  until  the 
Twies  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled^  and  then  shall  be  the  con- 
summation, i.  e.  the  end  of  wrath  upon  this  people.  The 
Gentiles  in  St.  Luke  are  the  Desolators  in  Daniel ;  and  in 
both  the  Roman  empire  is  intended,  by  whose  army  this 
great  desolation  was  effected.  The  Jews  therefore  are,  by 
Christ's  interpretation  of  Daniel,  to  remain  in  a  long  capti- 
vity, till  the  coming  of  the  period  that  God  hath  fixed  for 
pouring  out  his  wrath  on  the  Roman  empire.  And  that 
empire  being  still  subsisting,  as  the  Jews  affirm,  in  one  of 
its  forms,  according  to  the  vision  of  Nebuchadnezzar's 
image  ;  so  it  hath  happened,  that  all  the  efforts  of  the  Jews, 
though  many  and  vigorous,  for  rebuilding  their  city  and 
temple,  have  been  vain*'.'  The  next  extract  is  a  part  of 
Dr.  Well's  paraphrase  on  the  last  two  verses  from  Daniel. 
*  During  the  period  of  time  reckoned  by  scripture  to  the 
Fourth  and  last  kingdoms  of  the  Gentiles,  not  only  the 
Romans,  but  also  the  Saracens,  and  the  Popish  Christian 
kings  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  Turks,  (each  of  which,  though 
of  different  extract,  yet  shall  be  people  or  inhabitants  of 
the  countries  once  belonging  to  the  Roman  empire)  in  their 
respective  order  and  times  shall  be  the  lords  of  Jerusalem, 
and  shall  profane  the  said  holy  city  with  their  respective 
abominations,  or  false  and  idolatrous  worship, — even  until 
that  grand  consummation  of  God's  indignation  against  the 
Jewish  nation,  or  Israelites  in  general,  so  often  and  so  much 
spoken  of  in  holy  scripture.  Then,  when  this  time  deter- 
mined for  putting  an  end  to  the  Fourth  and  last  kingdom, 
and  so  to  the  whole  succession  of  the  four  kingdoms  of  the 
Gentiles,  shall  be  come,  that  is  (in  the  words  of  our  Sa- 
viour, Luke  xxi.  24),  when  the  Time  of  the  Gentiles  (viz. 
of  their  lording  over  the  Jews  and  other  Israelites)  shall  be 
fulfilled :  then,  I  say,  that  utter  desolation,  which  is  deter- 
mined upon  all  the  enemies  of  Christ  or  of  his  true  religion, 
shall  be  poured  upon  the  desolator^  i.  e.   upon  the   Gentile 

41  Def.  of  Christianity,  p.  360. 
Dd 


210  CHAP.  XXIX. 

people  inhabiting  the  (once)  countries  of  the  Roman  empire, 
namely  such  of  them  as  shall  then  be  either  downright  op- 
posers  of  Christianity,  or  else  false  Christians. — As  for 
Israel ;  all  Israel  shall  then  be  converted  to  Christianity.' 

Immediately  after  predicting  the  wide  dispersion  of  the 
Israelites,  Moses  says,  But  if  from  thence  thou  shalt  seek 
the  Lord  thy  God,,  thou  shalt  find  hifn^  if  thou  seek  him  with 
ail  thy  heart  and  xvith  all  thy  soul.  When  thou  art  in  tribu- 
lation^ and  all  these  things  are  come  upon  thee,,  even  in  the 
latter  days,,  if  thou  turn  to  the  Lord  thy  God,,  and  shalt  he 
obedient  unto  his  voice,,  (for  the  Lord  thy  God  is  a  merciful 
God)  ;  he  -will  not  forsake  thee,,  neither  destroy  thee,,  nor 
forget  the  covenant  of  thy  fathers  xvhich  he  sxvare  unto  thein*'^. 
The  great  legislator  of  the  Hebrews  also  elsewhere  says,  it 
shall  come  to  pass,,  -when  all  these  things  are  come  upon 
thee,,  the  blessing  and  the  curse,  which  I  have  set  before  thee^ 
and  thou  shalt  call  them  to  mind  ainong  all  the  nations^  whither 
the  Lord  thy  God  hath  driven  thee.,  and  shalt  return  unto  the 
Lord  thif  God.,  and  shalt  obey  his  voice  according  to  all  that  I 
command  thee  this  day.,  thou  and  thy  children,  xvith  all  thine 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul;  that  the?!  the  Lord  thy  God  will 
turn  thy  captivity,  and  have  compassion  upon  thee,  and  xvill 
return  and  gather  thee  from  all  the  nations,  whither  the  Lord 
thy  God  hath  scattered  thee.  If  any  of  thine  be  driven  out 
unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  heaven,  from  thence  will  the  Lord 
thy  God  gather  thee,  and  from  thence  will  he  fetch  thee. 
And  the  Lord  thy  God  will  bring  thee  into  the  land  xvhich  thy 
fathers  possessed,  and  thou  shalt  possess  it ;  and  he  -will  do 
thee  good,  and  midtiply  thee  above  thy  fathers.  And  the  Lord 
thy  God  will  circitmci.^e  thine  heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy 
seed,  to  love  the  Lord  thy  God  xvith  all  thiiie  heart  and  with 
all  thy  soui*^. 

No  less  perspicuous  is  a  prophecy  of  Ezekiel.  Nor  is  it 
in  the  least  conditional.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  behold, 
I  will  take  the  children  of  Israel  from  among  the  heathen. 


42  Deut.  iv.  29,  30, 31.  43  Deut.  xxx.  1—6: 


tHAP.   XXIX.  211 

whither  they  be  gone^  and  will  gather  them  on  every  side, 
and  bring  them  into  their  own  land, — And  they  shall  dwell 
in  the  land  that  I  have  given  unto  Jacob  my  servant^  wherein 
your  fathers  have  dzuelt ;  and  they  shall  dxvell  therein^  even 
they^  and  their  children^  and  their  children's  children  for 
ever^. 

Not  less  striking  is  the  declaration  in  the  xlvith  chapter 
of  Jeremiah  (v.  28).  Fear  than  not^  0  Jacob  my  servant, 
saith  the  Lord :  for  I  am  ivith  thee  ;  for  Ixvill  make  a  fidl 
end  of  all  the  nations  xvhithcr  I  have  driven  thee  :  but  I  will 
not  make  a  full  end  of  thee.  '  The  providence  of  God,'  says 
bp.  Newton,  '  has  been  remai'kable  in  the  destruction  of 
their  enemies^  as  well  as  in  their  preservation^  For  from 
the  beginning  who  have  been  the  great  enemies  and  oppres- 
sors of  the  Jewish  nation,  removed  them  from  their  own 
land,  and  compelled  them  into  captivity  and  slavery?  The 
Egyptians  afflicted  them  much,  and  detained  them  in  bon- 
dage several  years.  The  Assyrians  carried  away  captive 
the  ten  tribes  of  Israel ;  and  the  Babylonians  afterwards, 
the  two  remaining  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin.  The 
Syro-Macedonians,  especially  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  cruelly 
persecuted  them:  and  the  Romans  utterly  dissolved  the 
Jewish  state,  and  dispersed  the  people  so  as  they  have  never 
been  able  to  recover  their  city  and  country  again.  And  where 
are  now  these  great  and  famous  monarchies,  which  in  their 
turns  subdued  and  oppressed  the  people  of  God  ?  Are  they 
not  vanished  as  a  dream,  and  not  only  their  power,  but  their 
very  names,  lost  in  the  earth  ?  What  a  wonder  of  providence 
is  it,  that  the  vanquished  should  so  many  ages  survive  the 
victors,  and  the  former  be  spread  all  over  the  world,  while 
the  latter  are  no  more*^' 

The  passages  next  to  be  quoted,  besides  ascertaining  the 
restoration  and  the  future  meliorated  situation  of  the  Jews, 
corroborate  that  interpretation  of  our  Lord's  prophecy, 
which  was  before  alleged  ;  because  they  speak   the   same 


44  xxxvir.  21,  25.  45  Vol.  I.  p.  218. 


212  CHAP.   XXIX. 

language  with  respect  to  tlie  period  when  this  persecuted 
people  shall  be  restored,  declai-ing  that  this  will  happen 
about  the  time,  when  a  great  Revolution  takes  place  in  the 
symbolic  heavens  and  the  symbolic  earth. 

The  prophet  Joel,  immediately  after  foretelling  in  those 
verses  which  have  already  been  cited'*^  v.  9 — 14*%  the 
decisive  defeat  of  the  antichristian  armies;  in  v.  15,  de- 
clares, in  the  symbolic  language  of  prophecy,  the  conse- 
quences of  that  defeat,  that  the  sun  and  the  moon  shall  be 
darkened^  and  the  stars  shall  xvithdraw  their  shining^  and 
that  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  shake.  The  Lord^  he  im- 
mediately adds,  at  this  period  will  be  the  hope  of  his  people, 
and  the  strength  of  the  children  of  Israel'"'^.  So  shall  ye 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God  dwelling'^^  in  Zion,  my 
holy  mountain  :  then  shall  Jerusalem  be  holy,  and  there  shall 
no  strangers  pass  through  her  any  more.  My  favor  towards 
you,  ye  shall  know,  ye  shall  learn  by  experience.  Then  Je- 
rusalem su  .1  be  untouched  by  foreign  armies,  and  no  more 
shall  they  pass  through  her  streets  and  her  provinces  at 
their  pleasure. 

Isaiah  after  recurring  to  the  same  class  of  symbols,  and 
saying  in  ch.  Ixv.  17,  behold  I  create  new  heavens  and  a  new 
earth,  adds  in  the  two  succeeding  verses.  But  ye  shall  re- 
joice and  exidt  in  the  age  to  come^°,  wAic/i  I  create :  for, 
to!  I  create  Jerusalem  a  subject  of  joy,  and  her  people  of 
gladness  ;  and  I  will  exult  in  Jerusalem,  and  rejoice  in  my 
people.  And  there  shall  not  be  heard  any  more  therein,  the 
voice  of  xveeping,  and  the  voice  of  a  distressful  cry^^. 

In  another  place  Isaiah  says,  that,  when  men  shaUnot  hurt 
nor  destroy,  and  when  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knoW" 
lege  of  the  Lord,  that  is  to  say,  at  the  commencement  of  the 

46  In  p.  301,  and  302.  47  Chap.  III. 

48  In  explication  of  these  words.  Dr.  Pococke  pertinently  cites,  Luke 
xxi.  28,  Thtn  look  up,  and  lift  up  your  heads  ;  for  your  deliverance  droKeih 
nigh. 

49  To  dwell  among,  says  Dr.  Lancaster,  signifies  protection. 
5Q  i.  e.  in  the  oiiav  or  eminent  period,  called  the  millennium. 
51  To  bp.  Lowth  the  translation  above  belongs. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  213 

millennium  ;  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day^  that  the  Lord 
shall  set  his  hand  again  the  second  time  to  recover  the  rem- 
nant of  his  people^  zvhich  shall  be  left^  from  Assyria^  and 
from  Egypt, — and  from  the  isles  of  the  sea.  And  he  shall 
set  lip  an  ensign  for  the  nations^  and  shall  assemble  the  out- 
casts of  Israel^  and  gather  together  the  dispersed  of  Judah 
from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth^^^  In  the  expression 
the  isles  of  the  sea^  Europe,  says  Vitringa,  is  undoubtedly 
included. 

After  alleging  so  many  passages,  all  of  which  prove  that 
the  restoration  of  the  Jews  xvill  be  accomplished,  and  seve- 
ral of  which  serve  to  evince,  that  that  event  will  take  place 
about  the  time,  when  the  new  symbolic  heavens  and  sym- 
bolic earth  are  to  commence  ;  I  shall  perhaps  be  thought 
to  have  unnecessarily  directed  the  attention  of  the  reader 
to  the  following  citation  from  Dr.  Whitby.  It  is  not,  how- 
ever, long,  and,  of  itself,  seems  capable  of  conveying  con- 
viction to  the  mind. 

'  St.  John  speaks  of  a  neiu  heaven  atiP.  a  nexu  earthy  that 
he  saw,  saying,  the  former  heaven  and  earth  xvere  passed 
arvay^  Rev.  xxi.  1  :  and  introduceth  our  Lord,  saying. 
Behold,  I  make  all  things  nezv,  v.  5.  And  the  prophet  Isaiah 
introduceth  God,  thus  speaking  at  the  conversion  of  the 
Jews,  Behold,  I  create  nexv  heavens  and  a  nexv  earth,  and  the 
former  shall  not  be  remembered,  nor  come  into  mind^^.  Is. 
Ixv.  17.  And  again, — in  the  very  words  of  the  author  of 
the  Revelations,  Behold,  I  make  all  things  nexv,  ch.  xliii.  18, 
19.  Seeing  then  these  nexv  heavens  and  nexv  earth  mast  be 
contemporary  with  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  sure  they 
must  be  before  the  conflagration  of  the  world,  i.  e.  before 
the  Jewish  nation  be  consumed  to  ashes  ;  and  therefore  can 


52  XI.  9,  11,  13.     In  the  versions  of  bp.  Lovvth  and  Mi-.  Dodson  it  is 
from  the  four  extremities  of  the  earth. 

5o  In  his  Thoughts  on  the  Grand  Apostacy  (p.  190),  Mr.  Taylor  (the  au- 
thor of  Ben  MorJecui's  Apolog  < )  has  not  omitted  to  warn  the  reader,  that 
this  passage  relates  not  *  to  the  dissolution  of  the  natural,  but  merely  of 
the  political  world.' 


214  CHAP.  XXIX. 

onlj'  be  a  new  heaven  and  7ieTv  earthy  in  that  moral  sense  in 
which  Maimonides  explains  the  phrase'*.' 

In  the  scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  agreeably  to 
what  might  be  expected,  the  prophecies  relative  to  the  fu- 
ture state  of  the  Jews  are  principally  to  be  found.  That 
there  is  a  plain  prediction  of  the  great  founder  of  our  reli- 
gion upon  this  subject  has^  however,  been  seen.  To  this  a 
prophetic  declaration  of  St.  Paul  may  with  propriety  be 
added.  In  the  beginning  of  the  Xlth  chapter  of  his  epis- 
tle to  the  Romans,  he  asks.  Hath  God  cast  away  his  people  P 
God  for '>id,  says  the  apostle,  God  hath  not  cast  away  his  peo- 
ple f  And  again  in  verses  25,  and  26,  I  would  not^  brethreUy 
that  ye  should  be  ignorant  of  this  mystery ^ — that  blindness 
in  part  is  happened  to  Israel,  until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles 
be  come  in.  And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved.  That  the  de- 
scendants of  Abraham,  much  as  they  have  been  distin- 
guished by  obstinate  incredulity,  shall  hereafter  acknowlege 
the  evidences,  and  enjoy  the  advantages,  of  Christianity, 
is,  indeed,  the  great  truth,  which  is  to  be  deduced  from  the 
whole  tenor  of  the  chapter". 


54  On  the  Millennium,  c.  II.  sect.  3.  The  expression  of  the  prophet^ 
Maimonides  admonishes  the  reader,  is  symbolically  to  be  understood. 

55  Dr.  Whitby,  in  his  elaborate,  and,  I  may  add,  in  his  convincing,  Ap- 
pendix to  the  xith  chapter  of  the  Romans,  says,  to  strengthen  the  argument 
which  I  ha^'e  offered  from  it,  '  for  the  conversion  of  the  Jewish  nation  to 
the  Christian  faith  ;  let  it  be  noted,  that  this  hath  been  the  constant  doc- 
trine of  the  church  of  Christ,  owned  by  the  Greek  and  Latin  Fathers,  and 
by  ALL  commentators  I  have  met  with  on  this  place.  Among  the  Greek 
Fathers  by  St.  Chrysostom,'  Thcodoret,  Gennadius,  Photius,  Theophylact, 
andOrigen.  '  All  the  Latin  Fathers,  who  have  left  us  any  commentaries, 
or  notes  on  this  epistle,  are  plainly  of  the  same  mind,  as  j'ou  may  see  by 
consulting  Hilary  the  Deacon,  Prlmasius,  Sedulius,  and  Haymo,  upon  the 
25th  verse  of  this  chapter.'  That  the  exiled  wanderers  of  Judea  shall 
hereafter  embrace  the  Christian  faith,  was  also  the  ojiinion  of  Jerom  and 
Justin  Mart\T,  of  Cyril  and  Augustin,  as  their  writings  attest. 

That  the  Jewish  nation  shall  hereafter  be  converted  to  Christianity  is 
observed,  in  tiieir  respective  commentaries  on  the  xith.  ch.  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans  by  Poole  and  Mr.  Samuel  Clark,  by  John  Locke  and  Mr. 
Taylor  of  Norwich,  by  Doctors  Guyse,  Doddridge,  and  Wells,  by  Bre- 
nius,  Slichtingius,  and  Crellius,  by  Pareus,  Beza,  Marlorat,  and  Erasmus. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  215 

It  is  observable,  says  Dr.  Hartley,  that  '  the  promises 
of  restoration  relate  to  the  ten  tribes,  as  well  as  the  two  of 
Judah  and  Benjamin'^'  '  That  the  Jews,  both  of  the  two 
tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamiti,  and  the  other  ten,  shall 
hereafter  be  restored  to  their  own  land,  is,'  says  Mr.  Hal- 
lett,  *  foretold  by  all  the  ancient  prophets.  The  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel  continued  one  people  till  the  reign  of  Reho- 
boam,  son  of  Solomon ;  when  the  ten  tribes  revolted  from 
him.  These  ten  tribes  were  called,  the  kingdom  of  Israel; 
the  other  two  were  called,  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  About 
250  years  after  the  division,  the  kingdom  of  Israel  was  con- 
quered by  the  Assj^rians,  and  the  people  carried  away  cap- 
tive, 2  Kings,  xvii.  5,  6,  &c.  These  have  never  yet 
returned  to  Judea".' 

'  The  difficulty  of  finding  out  the  habitations  of  the  ten 
tribes  hath',  says  bp.  Newton,  induced  some  '  to  maintain, 
that  they  returned  into  their  own  country  with  the  other  two 
tribes  after  the  Babylonish  captivity.  The  decree,  indeed, 
of  Cyrus  extended  to  all  the  people  of  God  (Ezra  I.  3.),  and 
that  of  Artaxerxes  to  all  the  people  of  Israel  (vii.  13.)  :  and 
no  doubt  many  of  the  Israelites  took  advantage  of  these  de- 
crees, and  returned  with  Zerubbabel  and  Ezra  to  their  own 
cities:  but  still  the  main  body  of  the  ten  tribes  remained  be- 
hind. Ezra,  who  should  best  know,  saith,  that  there  ro&e  up 
the  chief  of  the  fathers  of  fiidah  and  Benjamin  (1.  5.)  and  he 
called  the  Samaritans  the  adversaries  of  fudah  and  Benjamin 
(iv.  1.)  :  these  two  tribes  were  the  principals,  the  others  were 
only  as  accessaries.  And,  if  they  did  hot  return  at  this  time, 
they  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  returned  in  a  body  at  any 
time  after  this  :  for  we  read  of  no  such  adventure  in  history, 
we  know  neither  the  time  nor  the  occasion  of  their  return, 
nor  who  were  their  generals  or  leaders  in  this  expedition. 
Josephus,  who  saw  his  country  for  several  years  in  as  flour- 

And  that  this  is  the  import  of  St.  Paul's  words  is  incidentally  observed  by 
Vitringa  (in  Jesai.  torn.  II.  p.  795). 

56  On  Man,  vol.  II.  p.  373. 

57  Notes  on  Several  Texts  of  Scripture  and  Discourses,  by  Joseph  Hal- 
lett,  Jun.  vol.  III.  p.  409. 


^16  '  CHAP.  XXIX, 

ishing  a  condition  as  at  any  time  since  the  captivity,  affirms, 
that  Ezra  sent  a  copy  of  the  decree  to  Artaxerxes  to  all  of  the 
same  nation  throughout  Media,  where  the  ten  tribes  lived 
in  captivity,  and  many  of  them  came  with  their  effects  to 
Babylon,  desiring  to  return  to  Jerusalem:  but  the  main 
body  of  the  Israelites  abode  in  that  region :  and  therefore 
it  hath  happened,  saith  he^*,  that  there  are  two  tribes  in 
Asia  and  Europe,  living  in  subjection  to  the  Romans,  but 
the  ten  tribes  are  beyond  the  Euphrates  to  this  time'^.' 
And  it  is  observed  by  Prideaux,  '  that,  during  all  the  time 
of  the  second  temple,  and  for  a  great  many  ages  after,  the 
number  of  the  Jews  in  Chaldea,  Assyria,  and  Persia,  grew 
to  be  so  very  great,  that  they  were  all  along  thought  to  ex- 
ceed the  number  of  the  Jcavs  of  Palestine,  even  in  those 
times  when  that  country  was  best  inhabited  by  them^.' 

With  respect  to  the  ten  tribes,  the  following  questions, 
which  bp.  Newton  has  stated,  are,  as  he  observes,  doubtless 
embarrassing.  '  Where  have  they  subsisted  all  this  while  ? 
And  where  is  their  situation,  or  what  is  their  condition  at 
present*'  ?  It  may,  however,  be  observed,  that  the  Jews, 
who  still  subsist  under  great  circumstances  of  depression  in 
Persia,  are  the  descendants  of  the  ten  tribes*^ ;  and  some 
passages  from  a  recent  work  of  Oriental  literature  may  de- 
serve to  be  transcribed,  as  they  seem  to  aff'ord  some  hope, 
that  a  ray  of  light  may  be  unexpectedly  thrown  over  a  sub- 
ject, Avhich  has  hitherto  been  dark  and  unusually  clouded 
by  difficulties. 

After  an  account  of  the  Afghans,  inserted  in  the  Asiatic 
Researches^  the  parent  of  that  work.  Sir  William  Jones, 
who  unites  in  his  own  person  two  very  rare  characters,  that 
of  an  accomplished  Oriental  linguist  and  a  meritorious 
British  inhabitant  of  Hindostan,  add^  '  This  account  of 

58  Antiq.  lib.  II.  cap.  5.  sect.  2.  p.  482.  edit.  Hudson. 

59  Vol.  I.  p.  209. 

60  Connection  of  the  Hist,  of  the  Old  and  New  Test.  fol.  "th  cd.  vol.  I. 
p.  108. 

61  Vol.  I.  p.  20".  , 

62  See  Basnage's  Hist,  of  the  Jews,  b.  VI.  ch.  2,  4. 


CKAP.    XXIJC« 


2ir 


the  Afghans  may  lead  to  a  very  interesting  discovery.  We 
learn  from  Esdras'^^  that  the  ten  tribes,  after  a  wandering 
journey,  came  to  a  country  called  Arsareth,  where  we  may 
suppose  they  settled.  Now  the  Afghans  are  said  by 
THE  BEST  Persian  historians  to  be  descended  from 
THE  Jews  ;  they  have  traditions  among  themselves  of 
such  a  descent ;  and  it  is  even  asserted,  that  their  families 
are  distinguished  by  the  names  of  Jewish  tribes,  although 
since  their  conversion  to  the  Islam,  they  studiously  conceal 
their  origin.  The  Piishto  language,  of  which  I  have  seen 
a  dictionary,  have  a  manifest  resemblance  to  the  Chaldaic; 
and  a  considerable  district  under  their  dominion  is  called 
Hazareh,  or  Hazaret,  which  might  easily  have  been  changed 
into  the  word  used  by  Esdras.  I  strongly  recommend  an 
inquiry  into  the  literature  and  history  of  the  Afghans^*.' 

The  title  given  to  the  piece,  to  which  Sir  William  Jones's 
observations  are  annexed,  is  on  the  Descent  of  the  Afghani 
from  the  Jews.  It  is  translated  from  the  Persian  by  Mr. 
Vansittart ;  and  the  Persian  work  is  itself  an  abridgment 
of  a  more  early  performance,  written  in  the  Pushto  or  Af- 
ghan language,  and  entitled,  the  Secrets  of  the  Afghans. 
It  is  from  this  Persian  abridgment  that  the  following  state- 
ments are  taken.  *  The  Afghans,  according  to  their  own 
traditions,  are  the  posterity  of  Melic  Talut'  (king  Saul), 
and  Afghan,  who  had  a  military  command  under  Solomon, 
was  the  grandson  of  Talut.     Then  follows  an  account  of 

63  B.  II.  ch.  xiii.  41 — 50.  Visionaiy  and  wild  as  many  parts  of  the  Se- 
cond Book  of  Esdras  certainly  are,  it  nevertheless  ascertains  the  anti- 
quity of  this  tradition.  It  is,  declares  Bengelius,  a  matter  admitted  by 
the  learned,  that  this  book  was  written  in  the  beginning  of  the  second 
century  ( Intr-  to  the  Apoc  &c.  p.  285)  ;  and  Basnage,  speaking  of  the  au- 
dior  of  it,  says  (Hist  of  the  Jews,  b.  VI.  c.  2,  4),  '  we  must  place  him  at 
the  end  of  the  first,  or  beginning  of  the  second,  century.' 

64  See  the  Asiatic  Researches,  4to.  vol.  II ;  or  a  smaller  work,  published 
by  Nicol,  entitled  Dissertations  and  Miscellaneous  Pieces,  relating  to  the  Hist, 
and  Antiq.  the  Arts,  Sciences,  and  Liter,  of  Asia  by  Sir  W.  Jones,  &c.  8vo. 
vol.  II.  p.  128. 

Vol.  II.  E  e 


218  CHAP.  XXIX. 

the  war  between  the  children  of  Israel  and  the  Amalekitea^ 
and  various  particulars,  relative  to  the  Jewish  monarchs^ 
Saul  and  David,  and  the  prophet  Samuel.  '  The  Afghans 
are  called  Solaimani,  either  because  they  were  formerly  the 
subjects  of  Solomon,  king  of  the  Jews,  or  because  they 
inhabit  the  mountain  of  Solomon. — Their  nation  has  pro- 
duced many  conquerors  of  provinces,'  and  seven  princes 
*■  of  this  race  have  sat  upon  the  throne  of  Dehli.' 

The  order  of  ranks,  which  prevails  among  them,  cannot 
but  have  operated  in  preserving  a  large  part  of  them  se- 
parate from  those  who  are  of  a  different  origin.  '  They 
framed  regulations,'  says  the  author  of  the  Persian  abridg- 
ment, *  dividing  themselves  into  four  classes. — The  first 
is  the  pure  class,  consisting  of  those,  whose  fathers  and 
mothers  were  Afghans^^'  The  Afghans,  Mr.  Vansittart 
observes,  have  been  subject  to  the  kings  of  Persia^,  as 
well  as  to  the  princes  of  Hindostan. 

That  the  ten  tribes  were  transported  into  some  of  the 
provinces  of  the  Persian  empire,  is  universally  admitted'^ ; 
and  that  they  continued  there  for  a  considerable  time,  and 
were  very  numerous,  cannot  be  doubted.  Now  as  we 
know  them  to  have  been  exposed  in  that  empire,  at  differ 

65  See  the  Dissertations,  &c.  p.  119 — 128.  The  Afghans,  saj  s  Mr.  Han- 
way,  '  have  an  utter  aversion  against  mai-rying'  their  daughtei's  to  strangers,' 
Hist,  of  the  Revokitions  of  Persia,  vol.  III.  p.  43. 

66  At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  the  province  of  KandaJiar, 
which  the  Afghans  inliabited,  was  subject  to  Persia.  Oppressed  and 
phindered  in  the  most  outrageous  manner  by  the  Persian  governor,  and 
the  licentious  troops  whom  he  commanded,  the  Afghans  in  the  year  1709 
rebelled,  and  succeeded  in  erecting  that  province  into  a  small  but  inde- 
pendent monarchy.  In  the  year  1722  the  Afghans  penetrated  to  the  heai-t  ol" 
the  Persian  empire ;  and,  having  defeated  an  army  of  nearly  50,000  Persians, 
and  obtained  possession  of  Ispahan,  the  prince  of  the  Afghans  ascended 
the  throne  of  Persia.  In  ilie  year  1726  the  Porte  having  declai-ed  war 
against  the  Afghan  king  of  that  country,  the  Afghans  defeated  an  arm}- 
of  between  70  and  80,000  Turks.  But  the  Afghans,  in  the  year  1729, 
were  defeated  by  the  celebrated  KouG  Khan,  and  expelled  from  Persia. 
For  these  facts  see  Han  way's  Accoimt  of  the  Revolutions  in  Per>:;ia.  Vo'. 
HI.  p.  22—255;  and  vol.  IV.  p.  1—40. 

67  See  bp.  Newton,  vol.  I.  p.  206,  207 


CHAP.  XXIX.  219 

ent  periods,  to  oppression  and  the  severest  calamities'^' ; 
it  certainly  does  seem  reasonable  to  conclude,  indepen- 
dently of  any  positive  testimonies  which  may  be  alleged  on 
the  subject,  that  considerable  numbers  of  them,  in  order 
to  escape  from  the  fury  of  persecution,  would  enter  and 
inhabit  one  or  both  of  the  two  adjoining  countries  of  Tar- 
tary  and  India,  where  their  settlement  would  be  favored 
by  the  facility  with  which  revolutions  were  affected,  and  by 
the  comparatively  small  power,  which  the  princes  of  those 
countries,  from  the  smallness  of  their  territories  frequently 
possessed.  That  they  would  gradually  be  induced  to  cor- 
rupt the  purity  of  the  Jewish  worship,  to  embrace  hea- 
thenism, and  afterwards  to  acknowlege  a  belief  in  the  di- 
vine mission  of  Mahomet,  seems  also  extremely  probable  j 
powerfully  led  to  it,  as  they  would  be,  by  motives  of  policy 
and  the  contagion  of  example,  by  ignorance  of  letters,  and 
their  total  separation  from  their  brethren  in  Turkey  and  in 
Europe.  To  these  conclusions  the  preceding  extracts  are 
doubtless  favorable  ;  nor  are  they  unsupported  by  the  tes- 
timonies of  other  writers. 

The  quotation  that  follows  is  from  bishop  Law.  At  the 
termination  of  the  captivity  of  the  Jews  at  Babylon,  the 
greatest  part  of  them,  and  those  of  the  greatest  eminence, 
staid  behind,  and  .settled  in  Chaldea,  Assyria,  and  other 
Eastern  provinces  ; — whence  it  is  probable,  that  some  of 
their  descendants  spread  so  far  as  the  East  Indies,  where 
their  posterity  continue  to  this  day  ;  as  appears  from  the 
accounts  of  many  modern  travellers^.* 

As  the  subject  is  curious,  some  of  these  accounts,  though 
certainly  not  exempt  from  error,  may  perhaps  deserve  to 
be  collected,  and  to  be  briefly  noticed.  That  the  Afghans 
are  those,  to  whom  some  of  these  travellers  refer,  can 
hardly  be  doubted. 

The  learned  Mr.  Jacob  Bryant,  speaking  of  a  colony  of 
Jews  at  Cochin  upon  the  coast  of  Malabar,  says,  they  came 


68  See  Basnage's  Hist,  of  the  Jews. 

69  Law's  Theory  of  Rdigion,  3d  ed.  p-  140. 


^20  CHAP.  XXlXo 

there  according  to  Hamilton'"  as  early  as  the  captivity  under 
Nebuchadnezzar.  Thus  much  is  certain,  the  sera  is  so  far 
back,  that  they  know  not  now  the  time  of  their  arrival. — 
They  consisted  formerly  of  80,000  families  :  but  are  now 
reduced  to  4000.  Mr.  Bate,  a  clergyman,  who  had  a  sou 
in  the  East  Indies,  made  application  to  have  some  particu- 
lars of  their  history.  "  I  wrote''  over  to  the  coast  of  Ma- 
labar, to  know  what  tradition  the  Jews  have  retained,  as  to 
the  time  of  their  settlement  at  Cochin,  but  had  no  satisfac- 
tory answer.  Ezekiel,  the  Rabbin  of  the  synagogue,  did, 
indeed,  send  me  a  transcript  of  their  copper  plate,  hung  up 
in  their  synagogue.  It  is  written  in  the  Malabar  language, 
put  into  common  Hebrew  characters ;  interlined  with  a  lite- 
ral version  in  Hebrew'^".  This  account,  it  is  manifest, 
does  not  relate  to  the  Afghans.  But  it  may  be  observed, 
that  it  is  at  least  a  possible  case,  that  of  the  Jews  who  emi- 
grated from  Persia  a  small  portion  might,  like  their  bre- 
thren of  Europe,  steadily  adhere  to  the  religion  of  Moses. 
The  extract  which  follows  is  from  Bernier's  description 
of  Hindostan.  Bernier  was  a  learned  Frenchman,  who  re- 
sided twelve  years  at  the  court  of  the  Great  Mogul,  and  in 
the  year  1664  accompanied  him  in  his  journey  to  the  small 
kingdom  of  Kachemire  or  Cashmere  ;  a  country  very  rarely 
visited  by  Europeans,  as  it  is  situated  at  the  extremity  of 
Hindostan,  borders  upon  Tartary  and  upon  Persia,  and  is 
extremely  difficult  of  access,  being  shut  up  and  almost  in- 
sulated by  the  mountains  of  Caucasus'^  In  answer  to  some 
inquiries  made  by  that  industrious  traveller,  M.  Thevenot, 
whether  there  were  Jews  in  the  kingdom  of  Cashmere,  and 

70  Account  of  the  East  Indies,  c.  xxvi.  p.  323; 

71  •  Bate's  Rationale,  p.  223.  Maffeius  in  his  Indian  History  speaks 
of  those  Jews,  as  being  in  great  numbers  at  Cochin. — See  his  Hist.  Lib. 
5CVI.  p.  332.' 

72  Bryant  upon  the  Authenticity  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  Truth  of  the 
Chr.  Rel.  p.  273. 

73  In  order  to  form  an  accurate  idea  of  the  singularly  insulated  situa- 
tion of  Cashmere,  see  the  Map  of  the  South  East  part  of  Asia,  prefixed  to 
Dr.  Robertson's  Hist.  Disq.  on  India:  or  major  Rennel's  map  of  the  Coun- 
tries  between  the  Sources  of  the  Ganges  and  the  Caspian  Sea;  or  the 
map  of  Cashmere  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Voyages  de  Bernier. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  221 

whether  they  were  possessed  of  the  wrltmgs  of  the  Old 
Testament ;  Bernier  informs  him,  that  if  there  have  in 
that  country  been  those  who  have  professed  Judaism,  '  as 
there  is  some  reason  to  believe,  there  are  none  now  re- 
maining,' but  '  that  all  the   inhabitants   are  either   Pagans 

or  Mahometans Nevertheless  one  cannot  fail  of  finding 

there  many  marks  of  Judaism.  The  jirst  is,  that  on 
entering  this  kingdom,  after  having  passed  the  moun- 
tains of  Pire-penjale,  all  the  inhabitants  that  I  saw  in  the 
first  villages  appeared  to  me  to  be  Jews  in  their  air  and 
deportment,  and  moreover  in  that  indefinable  peculiarity, 
which  enables  us  to  distinguish  one  nation  from  another''*. 
I  am  not  the  only  person;  who  has  been  of  that  opinion ; 
our  father,  the  Jesuit,  and  many  of  us  Europeans  have  en- 
tertained it  before  me.  The  second \^^  that  I  have  remarked, 
that  among  the  lower  ranks  of  people  in  this  town^',  although 
Mahometans,  yet  the  name  of  Mousa,  which  signifies  Mo- 
ses, js  very  much  in  use.  The  third  is,  they  commonly 
say,  that  Solomon  came  into  their  country,  and  that  it  was 
he  who  cut  through  the  mountain  of  Baramoule  to  give  a 
free  passage  to  the  waters.  The  fourth^  that  Moses  died 
at  Cashmere,  and  that  his  tomb  is  one  league  distant  from 
this  town.  The  fifths  that  they  pretend,  that  that  little 
and  very  ancient  edifice,  which  appears  from  this  place  upon 
an  high  mountain,  was  built  by  Solomon,  and  that  it  is  for 
that  reason,  that  to  this  very  day  they  call  it  the  throne  of 
Solomon.  Therefore  I  would  not  deny,  that  some  Jews 
have  penetrated  hither.  These  people,  in  the  lapse  of  time, 
may  have  lost  the  purity  of  their  law^  ;  have  become  idola- 
ters, and  at  length  Mahometans'^' 

74  Speaking  in  another  place  of  the  inhabitants  of  Cashmere,  he  says, 
*  tliey  are  celebrated  for  their  fine  complexion.  They  are  as  weU  made  as 
we  Europeans  :  at  the  same  time  having'  nothing  of  the  countenance  of 
the  Tartai',  with  his  flat  nose,  and  little  pig's  eyes.'  Voyages  de  Francois 
Bernier,  torn.  II.  p.  281. 

75  The  town  of  Cashmere,  I  apprehend. 

76  Voyages  de  Francois  Bernier,  docteur  en  Medicine  de  la  Faculte  de  Mont- 
pellier ;  contenant  la  description  des  Flats  dtt  Grand  Mjagol.     Amsterdam, 


^22  <:hap.  XXIX. 

*  The  race  of  the  Afghans,'  says  the  Persian  writer  trans- 
lated by  Mr.  Vansittart, '  possessed  theijiselves  of  the  moun- 
tain of  Solomon,  which  is  near  Kandahar",  and  the  cir- 
cumjacent country,  where  they  have  built  forts.'  And  Mr. 
Vansittart  adds,  '  the  country  of  the  Afghans,  which  is  a 
province  of  Cabul,  was  originally  called  Roh,  and  from 
hence  is  derived  the  name  of  Rohillahs^^.  The  city,  which 
was  established  in  it  by  the  Afghans,  was  called  by  them 
Paishwer,  or  Paishor,  and  is  now  the  name  of  the  whole 
district^^'  It  is  Avorthy  of  observation,  that  the  city  of 
Kandahar  stands  on  the  very  frontier  of  Persia  ;  that  not 
only  the  province  of  that  name,  but  also  that  of  Cabul,  is 
on  the  borders  of  the  Persian  empire  ;  and  that  the  former 
of  these  provinces  is  adjacent  to  the  kingdom  of  Cashmere, 
and  that  the  latter  immediately  joins  it.  With  respect  to 
the  city  of  Paishwer,  a  principal  residence  of  the  Afghans, 
the  maps  of  Hindostan  ascertain  its  vicinity  to  Cashmere. 

After  introducing  extracts  from  Bernier  and  Bryant, 
Vansittart  and  Sir  W.  Jones,  it  may,  perhaps,  not  be  im- 
proper briefly  to  notice  the  statements  of  three  celebrated 
Jewish  writers,  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  Eldad,  and  Peritful 
of  Ferrara,  though  their  narratives,  it  must  be  admitted, 
have  so  great  a  mixture  of  what  is  fabulous  and  untrue, 
that   they  deserve  not  attention  any  farther  than  they  are 


1723,  torn.  II.  p.  316.  Bernier  was  a  man  of  penetration,  and.  greatly 
superior  to  the  general  mass  of  travellers.  Accordingly  Mr.  Gibbon  (vol. 
I.  p.  333),  when  speaking  of  his  journey  to  the  kingdom  of  Cashmere  and 
of  the  ca'mp  of  Aurengzebe,  says,  •  that  most  curious  traveller  Bernier — 
describes  with  great  accuracy  the  immense  moving  city.'  And  it  is  ob- 
served by  major  Rennel  (Mem.  of  a  Map  of  Hindostariy  p.  66),  that  Ber- 
nier '  deseiTes  the  greatest  credit  for  veracity.' 

77  That  ♦  the  Afghans  originally  inhabited  the  mountainous  tract  lying 
between  India  and  Persia,  or  the  ancient  Paropamisus,'  is  the  statement 
of  major  Rennel.     Memoir  of  a  Map  of  Hindostan,  pref  p.  48.' 

78  Of  the  Rohilla  nation,  who  are  a  part  of  the  Afghans,  and  who  in. 
habited  the  beautiful  province  of  Rohilcund,  a  considerable  part  were 
cruelly  extirpated  in  a  war  undertaken  by  the  Instigation  of  Mr.  Hastings. 

79  See  the  Asiatic  Researches,  or  Dissertations,  ut  Supra. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  223 

supported  by  other  writers  and  by  independent  evidence. 
Benjamin,  says  Basnage,  was  '  a  famous  traveller  of  the 
12th  century,  who  seems  to  have  undertaken  his  voyage 
only  to  discover  the  state  of  his  dispersed  nation  in  all  parts 
of  the  world. — His  testimony  seems  to  be  the  more  au- 
thentic, because  he  speaks  as  an  eye-witness,  and  relates 
what  he  had  seen.'  Eldad,  who  is  supposed  to  have  lived 
in  the  13th  century,  wrote  largely  on  the  history  of  the 
twelve  tribes.  Peritful  was  a  geographical  writer  of  the 
16th  century.  Benjamin  relates,  that,  in  the  course  of  his 
travels  in  the  East  Indies,  he  met  with  a  very  considerable 
number  of  his  countrymen  j  that  there  were,  as  he  was  in- 
formed, 20,000  Jews  intermingled  with  the  Pagan  worship- 
pers of  fire  ;  and  that  a  nation  of  Jews  was  seated  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Persia,  secured  by  the  mountains  which 
surrounded  them,  and  independent  of  the  power  of  that 
country.  After  relating  that  four  of  the  Jewish  tribes  mi- 
grated beyond  the  rivers  of  Chaldea,  and  that  they  lived 
in  a  great  degree  after  the  manner  of  the  Tartars,  accom- 
panied by  their  flocks,  and  dwelling  in  tents  ;  Eldad  asserts, 
that  of  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  which  was  subject  to  the  Per- 
sians, a  part  conformed  to  some  of  the  laws  of  the  country, 
and  that  fire  was  the  object  of  their  religious  adoration. 
And  that  colonies  of  Jews  were  planted  along  the  shores 
of  the  Ganges,  is  the  statement  of  PeritfuP°. 

The  author  of  a  supplemental  dissertation,  inserted  in 
Picart's  elaborate  work,  on  the  Ceremonies  and  Religious 
Customs  of  the  Vai-ious  Nations  of  the  Worlds  after  referring 
to  the  relations  of  Benjamin  and  of  Peritful,  says,  '  sup- 
posing it  was  true,  that  there  ever  was  a  Jewish  settle- 
ment in  those  countries,  we  might  very  justly  conjec- 
ture, that  they  were  the  remainder  of  the  ten  tribes. — 
Guelielmus  de  Rubruquis^',  who  travelled  into  Tartary 
in  the  year   1646,  assures   us,  that  about  two  day's  jour- 


80  See  Basnage's  Hist,  of  the  Jews,  b.  VI.  ch.  2,  % 

81  P.  272,  edit,  of  Paris. 


224  CHAP.    XSIX* 

ney  beyond  Dei-bent,  on  the  road  to  Great  Tartary,  he 
met  with  a  great  number  of  Jews  in  a  city  called  Sama- 
ron ;  and  he  mentions  likewise  an  inclosed  country  to- 
wards the  Caspian  sea,  where  the  Jews  were  confined. 
Carping  who  travelled  at  the  same  time,  gives  us  likewise 
an  account  of  some  of  the  Jews  of  Tartary^^.' 

Indeed  Basnage  informs  us,  that  'there  are  chiefly  two 
opinions,  that  have  been  current  with  the  Jews,'  and  the 
Christians,  and  that  one  of  these  opinions  is  this,  '  that 
the  ten  tribes  went  into  Tartary,  in  which  are  still  observed 
some  traces  of  ancient  Judaism.'  Menasseh,  who  was  one 
of  the  wisest  of  the  Jevfish  doctors,  '  in  the  last  century  as- 
serted the  transmigration  of  the  ten  tribes  into  Tartary.' 
And  '  Ortelius,  that  ingenious  geographer,  in  giving  the 
description  of  Tartary,  notes  the  kingdom  of  Arsareth, 
where  the  ten  tribes  retiring  succeeded  the  Scythian  inha- 
bitants*'*.' 

These  opinions,  it  is  proper  to  state,  obtained  not  the 
approbation  of  Basnage  himself.  There  are,  he  says, 
Jews  dispersed  in  the  East  Indies:  but  they  are  not  de- 
scendants of  tiie  ten  tribes,  but  merchants,  drawn  thither 
by  commerce.  '  If  we  would  seek  out  the  remains  of  the 
ten  tribes,  we  must  do  it  only  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphra- 
tes, in  Persia,  and  the  neighboring  province^^'  The  ac- 
counts respecting  the  emigration  of  Jews  into  Tartary  or 
India  are  doubtless  intermingled  with  much  which  is  fabu- 
lous and  wild^'^:  but  perhaps  there  is  ground  for  concluding, 
that  Basnage,  engaged  as  he  was  in  the  composition  of  a 
work  which  involved  a  vast  variety  of  inquiries,  was  too 
hasty  in  peremptorily  rejecting  the  whole  of  these  accounts, 
and  that,  notwithstanding    his  very  extensive  knowlege  of 

82  P.  377. 

83  Bernard  Picart's  Cereinonies  and  Religioim  Customs  of  the  Various  Na- 
tions of  the  Knoivn  World,  fol  1733,  vol.  1.  p.  166. 

84  Hist,  of  the  Jews,  p.  474. 

85  P.  747. 

86  Postal,  Basnage  informs  us  (p.  474),  stated  the  Turks  to  be  descended 
from  the  Jews. 


CHAP.  xXix*  225 

the  Jewish  dispersions,  he  was  on  this  point  not  sufficiently 
careful  in  separating  probability  from  fiction,  Iniormation 
on  the  subject  from  Oriental  writers  it  must,  indeed,  be 
admitted,  he  had  not  an  opportunity  of  procuring. 

That  a  large  body  of  the  Jews  should  settle  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Hindostan,  is  much  more  probable,  than  that  they 
should  inhabit  any  district  of  Tartary.  But  even  with  re- 
spect to  the  latter  statement,  the  reasoning  of  Basnage,  is 
not,  I  think,  eminently  conclusive.  How  improbable  is  it, 
says  the  author  of  the  History  of  the  Jews,  that  a  handful 
of  fugitives,  should  be  able  to  conquer  and  '  expel  the 
Scythians,  a  people  terrible  for  their  fierceness  and  ex- 
pence  in  war.'  And  he  immediately  after  exclaims,  what 
a  specimen  of  romantic  folly  '  would  it  be,  to  leave  a  tole- 
rably good  country,  to  go  and  make  conquests  upon  the 
Scythians*^.'  That  the  Persian  Jews  should  conquer  the 
Scythians,  is  certainly  incredible  ;  but  that  they  should  de- 
feat some  particular  Tartar  hordes  is  not  impossible.  That 
they  should  draw  the  sword  against  any  of  the  shepherds  of 
Tartary  is  not,  however,  a  necessary  supposition.  Their 
country  is  of  vast  magnitude  ;  and  who  does  not  know,  that 
myriads  of  its  wandering  inhabitants  have  frequently  emi- 
grated, and  invaded  some  civilised  nation  of  the  globe  ? 
Surely,  then,  there  is  no  difl[iculty  in  supposing,  that  a 
considerable  part  of  the  Jews  of  Persia  might  discover  and 
occupy  a  portion  of  vacant  land,  equal  in  point  of  extent 
to  iJl  their  wants.  Nor  is  there  any  thing  absurd  in  their 
abandoning  Persia,  cruelly  persecuted  as  they  often  were 
by  the  prince  and  the  people  of  that  country. 

It  is  observable  that  Moses  says,  the  Lord  shall  scatter 
thee  among'  all  people^  from  the  one  end  of  the  earth  even 
unto  the  other;  and  there  thou  shall  serve  other  Gods^  xvhich 
neither  thou  nor  thy  fathers  have  knoxvn^  even  xvood  and 
sto7ie^^.     '■  And  is  it  not,'  asks  bp.  Newton%  '  too  common 


87  P.  479. 

88  Deiit.  XXVIII,  fi-l.  89  Vol.  I.  p.  196. 
Vol.  II.                              F  f 


226  CHAP.  XXIX. 

for  the  Jews  in  popish  countries  to  comply  with  the  idola- 
trous worship  of  the  church  of  Rome,  and  to  bow  down  to 
stocks  and  stones,  rather  than  their  effects  should  be  seiz- 
ed and  confiscated.'  The  prelate  then  quotes  Basnage. 
"  The  Spanish  and  Portugal  Inquisitions,"  saith  he,  "  re- 
duce them  to  the  dilemma  of  being  either  hypocrites  or 
burnt.  The  number  of  these  dissemblers  is  very  consider* 
able  ;  and  it  ought  not  to  be  concluded,  that  there  are  no 
Jews  in  Spain  or  Portugal,  because  they  are  not  known : 
they  are  so  much  the  more  dangerous,  for  not  only  being 
very  numerous,  but  confounded  with  the  ecclesiastics,  and 
entering  into  all  ecclesiastical  dignities."  And  in  another 
place  he  saith,  "  The  most  surprising  thing  is,  that  this 
religion  spreads  from  generation  to  generation,  and  still 
subsists  in  the  persons  of  dissemblers  in  a  remote  posterity. 
In  vain  the  great  lords  of  Spain  make  alliances,  change 
their  names,  and  take  ancient  scutcheons ;  they  are  still 
known  to  be  of  Jewish  race,  and  Jews  themselves.  The 
convents  of  monks  and  nuns  are  full  of  them.  Most  of 
the  canons,  inquisitors,  and  bishops  proceed  from  this  na- 
tion. This  is  enough  to  make  the  people  and  clergy  of  this 
country  tremble,  since  such  sort  of  churchmen  can  only 
profane  the  sacraments,  and  want  intention  in  consecrating 
the  host  they  adore.  In  the  mean  time  Orobio,  who  re- 
lates the  fact,  knew  these  dissemblers.  He  was  one  of 
them  himself,  and  bent  the  knee  before  the  sacrament. 
Moreover  he  brings  proofs  of  his  assertion,  in  maintain- 
ing, that  there  are  in  the  synagogue  of  Amsterdam  bro- 
thers and  sisters  and  near  relations  to  good  families  of 
Spain  and  Portugal ;  and  even  Franciscan  monks,  Domi- 
nicans, and  Jesuits,  who  come  to  do  penance,  and  make 
amends  for  the  crime  they  have  committed  in  dissembling^. "^ 
This  is  the  whole  of  what  bp.  Newton  has  alleged  in  illus- 
tration of  the  prophecy,  which  I  have  just  cited  from  Deu- 
teronomy.    It  is  not,  I  think,  completel)^  satisfactory  ;  for 


90  Basnage,  book  VII.  ch.  21,  sect.  26 ;  and  ch,  33.  sect.  14. 


CHAP  XXIX.  22T 

the  fact  is,  that  the  Jews,  who  are  scattered  among  the  na- 
tions of  Europe,  have  upon  the  who'e  adhered  with  un- 
common steadiness  to  the  faith  of  their  ancestors.  In  or- 
der then  to  remove  the  difficulty,  I  would  observe,  that 
this  prediction  has  principally  received  its  fulfilment  in  the 
apostasy  of  the  descendants  of  the  ten  tribes,  who  have 
disappeared  from  the  eyes  of  the  world  ;  and  it  may  be  re- 
marked, that  the  Afghans,  previously  to  their  embracing 
of  Mahometanism,  were,  as  there  is  reason  to  believe,  de- 
based by  the  practice  of  idolatry  and  of  heathen  supersti- 
tions. 

Agreeably  to  this  Dr.  Priestly,  when  speaking  of  an- 
other prediction,  which  relates  to  the  Jews  abandoning  the 
religion  of  their  ancestors,  says,  this  prophecy  has  most 
literally  'been  fulfilled  in  the  ten  tribes,  few  of  whom  ever 
returned  to  Palestine,  and  not  being  at  present  distinguish- 
ed from  other  nations,  they  have,  no  doubt,  adopted  their 
idolatrous  religions.  It  is  not  improbable,  however,  but 
that  they  somewhere  form  a  distinct  people,  and  that  in  due 
time  their  origin  may  be  discovered.  Some  traces  of  them 
have  of  late  appeared.'  This  celebrated  writer  immediate- 
ly adds  in  a  note,  it  is  '  with  considerable  probability,'  that 
Sir  William  Jones  'conjectures,  that  the  Afghans,  a  people 
living  between  Persia  and  Hindostan,  are  of  Israelitish  ex- 
traction^'.' 

With  respect  to  the  Afghans,  I  shall  only  farther  add, 
that  should  this  conjecture  relative  to  them  hereafter  be 
proved  to  be  a  fact,  it  would  not  be  very  difficult  to  account 
for  its  having  lain  so  many  centuries  in  concealment.  The 
following  circumstances  would,  perhaps,  afford  a  solution 
of  the  difficulty.  Till  very  lately  the  gaining  of  territory, 
the  acquisition  of  riches,  and  the  opportunity  of  living 
with  profusion  and  splendor,  are  the  objects  which  have 
solely  occupied  the  minds  of  the  Europeans  of  Hindostan; 
and,  in  the  pursuit  of  these^  it  must  be  admitted,  they  have 
discovered  no  want  of  eagerness,  and  no  unnecessary  scru- 

91  Disc,  on  the  Evi.  of  Rel.  1794.  p.  216. 


228  CHAP.  XXIX. 

pies  with  respect  to  the  means  of  obtaining  them.  Recent 
is  the  period  when  the  literary  treasures  of  Hindostan  be- 
gan to  be  sought  after  with  any  degree  of  activity ;  and 
small  is  the  number  of  persons,  who  have  applied  to  Hindu 
and  Persie  literatare.  The  mountainous  regions  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  Hindostan,  where  was  the  proper  seat  of  the 
Afghans,  intelligent  and  inquisitive  Europeans  have  scarce- 
ly visited  at  all :  should  a  small  number  be  found  to  have 
done  this,  they  were  very  imperfectly  acquainted  with  the 
ordinary  language  of  the  country:  and  of  the  Pushto  or 
Afghan  language  Europeans  have  scarcely  had  the  slights 
est  knowlege.  Lastly,  the  Afghans  have  kept  their  origin 
enveloped  in  studied  obscurity. 

If  the  nation  of  the  Jews  do  perish  in  their  present  state 
of  wretchedness,  '  the  Holy  Spirit,'  says  Jurieu,  '  hath  de-^ 
ceived  this  nation,  all  their  oracles  are  false,  and  God  hath 
borne  them  up  with  vain  hopes'     But  this  is  a  supposition, 
which  it  is  almost  irreverend  to  name.     '  The  Messiah,' 
says  the  French  divine,  '  belongs  to  the  Jews,  he  was  pro- 
mised to  the  Jews  ;  this  nation  from  its  very  original  hath 
been  fed  with  the  hopes  of  the   Messiah's  coming,  as  of 
such  a  good,  which  was  too  great  to  be  described.     At  last 
he  conies;  and  this  people,  instead  of  seeing  those  great 
promises  accomplished,  see  their  temple  burnt,  their  capi- 
tal city  razed,  their  service  abolished,  their  posterity  dis- 
persed throughout  the  world,  and  made  the  execration  and 
contempt   of  mankind.     Thus  the   Messiah,  the  glory  of 
their  nation,  brings  them  nothing  but    shame,  desolation, 
and  infinite   miseries,  %vhich  have  no  parallel  in  any  othor 
people'*.'     That  such  will  be  the  final  result  of  events,   can 
surely  never  be  believed.     That  we  have  hitherto  seen  only 
a  partial  accomplishment  of  the  divine  purposes,  with  re- 
spect to  this  people,  is  a  conclusion  to  which  the  believer  is 
compelled  to  resort.     The  statement  of  Vitringa  may,  how- 
ever, be  perfectly  correct,  that  the  Jews  will  remain  undis- 
tinguished by  any  peculiar  privileges'^. 

92  Vol.  II.  p.  298.  9:i  In  Apoc.  p.  436. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  229 

The  literal  fulfilment  of  the  '  prophecies  concernhig  the 
calamities,  and  total  dispersion  of  the  Israelites,  must,' 
says  Dr.  Priestly  'satisfy  that  nation,  and  in  time  all  man- 
kind, that  Moses  was  inspired  in  delivering  them. — His 
other  prophecies  concerning  their  future  restoration,  and 
flourishing  state,  are  as  distinct  and  express  as  those  con- 
cerning their  calaniities,  and  far  more  numerous.  They 
ai-e  not  only  contained  in  Moses,  but  the  favorite  subject 
is  resumed,  enlarged  upon,  and  set  in  a  thousand  different 
lights,  by  Isaiah  and  most  of  the  succeeding  prophets.' 
They  are  '  equally  clear  and  free  from  ambiguity,  so  that 
there  can  be  no  doubt  concerning  their  meaning,  and  conscr 
quently,  if  we  believe  in  revelation,  concerning  their  literal 
accomplishment^'*.' 

There  are  some,  however,  who  will  probably  object, 
that  it  is  altogether  unreasonable  to  expect,  that  the  period 
will  ev^er  arrive,  when  any  considerable  number  of  the 
Jews,  unceasingly  as  their  desires  are  fixed  on  the  means  of 
acquiring  a  subsistence  or  augmenting  a  fortune,  deeply  as 
they  ai-e  involved  in  the  concerns  of  trade  or  the  perplexi- 
ties of  commerce,  should  seriously  turn  their  thoughts  to  a 
departure  from  their  respective  countries,  and  consent  to 
abandon  all  those  sources  of  Avealth  to  which  they  have 
been  accustomed  to  recur.  This  objection  is  colored  by  a 
certain  degree  of  plausibility.  But  it  may  be  asked,  does 
it  correspond  with  past  experience  ?  Is  it  true,  in  point  of 
fact,  that  the  Jews  have  ceased  to  place  a  confidence  in  the 
prophecies  of  their  future  restoration  ?  Is  it  true,  that, 
since  their  expulsion  from  Judea,  their  minds  have  become 
recorrciled  to  banishment  ?  Is  there  reason  to  believe,  that 
they  have  forgotten  the  country,  whence  they  derive  their 
origin,  and  where  their  forefathers  once  enjoyed  such  dis- 
tinguished privileges  ?  Have  they,  during  the  period  of 
their  dispersion,  felt  no  fond  desires  of  re-entering  the  bor- 
ders of  Palestine,  and  of  raising  the  standard  of  national 
hidependence  ? — The  fact  is  far  otherwise.     Instead  of  not 


94  Disc,  on  the  Evid.  of  Rev.  Rel.  p.  216. 


230  CHAP.  XXIX. 

being  influenced  at  all  by  these  hopes,  instead  of  not  paying 
a  reasonable  degree  of  attention  to  the  sacred  oracles  which 
promise  their  restoration  at  some  future  time,  they  have 
often  rushed  into  the  contrary  extreme,  and  have  been  rea- 
dy to  listen  with  an  excess  of  credulity  to  every  impostor, 
however  slender  his  pretensions,  provided  he  held  out  to 
them  the  expectation  of  a  return  to  the  country  of  their 
ancestors. 

In  order  to  prove  this  assertion,  I  shall,  as  the  subject  is 
curious,  give  a  compressed  account  of  some  of  the  false 
Messias  and  impostors,  M'^ho  have  appeared  at  different 
periods  subsequent  to  the  demolition  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus. 

About  50  years  after  that  event,  Barcochebas  was  ac- 
knowleged  by  the  Jews  for  the  Messiah;  and,  having  en 
listed  forces  to  the  amount  of  200,000  men,  declared  war 
against  the  emperor  Hadrian.  Animated  by  enthusiasm, 
and  confiding  in  his  lofty  pretensions,  the  Jews,  under  his 
conduct,  displayed  signal  valor  ;  and  repeatedly  defeated 
the  Roman  general,  Rufus.  So  great,  indeed,  was  the 
slaughter  of  the  Romans,  that  the  emperor  in  his  letters  to 
the  senate,  was  induced  to  withhold  his  accustomed  saluta- 
tions ;  and  we  are  told  by  the  historian  Dion,  that,  in  the 
war  with  Hadrian,  580,000  Jews  were  destroyed  by  the 
sword,  besides  an  immense  number  M'ho  perished  by  fire, 
by  hunger,  andJjy  disease.  The  island  of  Crete,  and  the 
year  434,  furnished  an  almost  incredible  instance  of  credu- 
lity. In  this  year  appeared  Moses  Cretensis,  who  not  only 
pretended  to  be  appointed  by  heaven  to  be  the  leader  of  the 
Jews  ;  but  promised  that  he  would  divide  the  sea,  and,  after 
having  opened  a  passage  through  its  waters,  would  conduct 
them  in  safety  to  the  land  of  Judea :  and  he  not  only  ob- 
tained a  great  multitude  of  followers ;  but  procured  their 
assent  to  the  full  extent  of  his  promises,  and  succeeded  in 
making  them  prepare  for  their  departure.  The  citizens 
abandoned  their  houses,  and  the  husbandmen  their  farms ; 
and  repaired  to  a  promontory,  to  which  the  Cretan  enthu- 
siast had  directed  their  steps.  When  arrived  there,  the 
frantic  multitude   felt   no  diminution    of  confidence  or  of 


GHAP.  XXIX.  £31 

courage.  The  men,  the  woman,  and  the  children,  -who  oc- 
cupied the  foremost  ranks,  did,  the  contemporary  historian 
Socrates  assures  us,  precipitate  themselves  from  the  pro- 
montory and  plunge  into  the  sea.  Of  these  deluded  Jews 
a  part  were  drowned  ;  a  part  were  saved  by  some  Christian 
fisherman,  who  happened  to  be  near  the  shore  in  their  barks  ; 
and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  remainder  was  effectually  cooled 
by  the  bad  success  of  this  singular  experiment.  With  re- 
spect to  Moses  Cretensis  himself,  his  fate  was  not  certainly 
known. 

In  the  year  529,  the  Jews  and  Samaritans  of  Palestine, 
rising  in  rebellion  against  the  Roman  power,  acknoAvleged 
one  Julian,  as  their  king  and  their  messiah;  and  a  great 
number  of  them  were  in  consequence  slaughtered.  It  was 
also  in  the  6th  century,  that  rabbi  Meir  arose,  and  pretend- 
ed that  the  Deity  had,  on  his  account,  miraculously  lighted 
up  a  pillar  of  fire.  Assembling  a  body  of  troops,  he  de- 
clared war  against  the  Persian  monarch,  and  experienced 
seven  years  of  success :  but  at  length  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Persians  and  put  to  death.  In  the  8th  century,  the 
character  of  the  Messiah  was  assumed  by  the  Jew  Serenus. 
Multitudes  of  the  Jews  of  Spain  submitted  themselves  to 
his  guidance  ;  and  many  of  them,  for  the  purpose  of  ac- 
companying the  impostor  to  Palestine,  abandoned  their 
estates. 

But  no  period  has  been  so  fruitful  in  Jewish  impostors  as 
the  12th  century.  It  was  in  France,  and  in  the  year  IIST, 
that  the  first  of  them  appeared.  In  consequence,  many  of 
the  Jews  were  killed,  and  many  of  their  synagogues  levelled 
with  the  ground.  In  the  following  year  the  East  was  dis- 
turbed by  a  false  Messiah,  who  collected  so  formidable  an 
army,  as  to  march  in  order  of  battle  against  the  king  of 
Persia,  and  to  induce  that  powerful  prince  to  purchase  the 
return  of  tranquillity  by  the  payment  of  a  very  considerable 
sum  of  money.  Short,  however,  was  the  period  of  this 
impostor's  prosperity.  In  the  year  1157  the  Jews  of  Spain 
listened  to  the  tales  of  a  native  of  Corduba  and  a  claimant 
to  the  title  of  the  Messiah  ;  and  fatal  were  the  consequences 


232  CHAP.  XX  1x3 

of  their  credulity,  for  it  brought  down  upon  them  the 
severities  of  a  general  persecution.  Ten  years  afterwards, 
another  of  these  impostors  appeared  in  the  kingdom  of  Fez  ; 
and  in  the  same  year,  the  year  1167,  an  Arabian  Jew, 
who  styled  himself  the  forerunner  of  the  Messiah,  was  ad- 
mired and  followed  by  multitudes  of  the  Jews  of  Arabia. 
Not  long  after  this,  vast  numbers  of  the  Jews  who  dwelt 
beyond  the  Euphrates  yielded  up  their  reason  in  favor  of 
an  enthusiast,  who  laid  claim  to  the  title  of  the  Messiah  ; 
and  in  the  year  1174,  the  Jews  of  Persia,  inconsequence 
of  the  appearance  of  another  false  Christ  in  that  country, 
were  again  exposed  to  the  fury  of  persecution.  At  this  pe- 
riod Moravia  abounded  with  Jews,  and  in  the  year  1176  a 
pretended  Messiah  of  the  name  of  David  Almusser,  excit- 
ed commotions  in  that  part  of  Germany.  But  the  most 
famous  impostor  of  the  12th  century,  and  one  who  rendered 
himself  conspicuous  towards  the  close  of  it,  was  David  el 
David.  He  was  a  man  of  learning,  and  a  pretended  worker 
of  miracles.  Persia  was  the  theatre  of  his  delusions.  He 
styled  himself  the  king  of  the  Jcavs  ;  and,  having  gained 
their  belief,  rose  in  arms  against  the  Persian  monarch,  and 
engaged  to  lead  them  back  to  the  ancient  capital  of  Judea. 
After  various  adventures,  he  Avas  at  length  betrayed  by  his 
father-in-law,  and  beheaded.  Of  many  of  the  Jewish  im- 
postors of  the  12th  century  an  account  is  to  be  found  in  the 
writings  of  Maimonides. 

In  the  year  1222  a  false  Messiah  appeared  in  Germany  ; 
and  in  the  same  century  a  multitude  of  the  Jews  of  Spain 
were  imposed  upon  by  Zechariah,  who  entitled  himself  a 
a  prophet  and  forerunner  of  the  Messiah.  In  the  year 
1499  the  same  character  was  sustained  by  rabbi  Lemlen,  a 
Jew  of  Austria,  who  had  the  credit  of  working  miracles, 
and  who  announced  to  his  brethren  their  return  to  the  Holy 
Land  in  the  year  1500.  His  vain  predictions  obtained  a 
general  reception,  and  many  of  the  Jews  of  Germany  pre- 
pared for  their  departure.  Accordingly  as  they  expected 
to  be  settled  in  Jerusalem  the  following  year,  many  of  them 
pulled  down  their  ovens,  in  which  they  baked  their  unlea- 


CHAP.  XXIX.  233 

vened  bread,  as  now  ceasing  to  be  useful.  Soon  perceiving 
that  he  had  fixed  on  too  early  a  period  for  the  fulfilment  of 
his  predictions,  David  Lemlem  asserted,  that  the  sins  of 
the  people  had  retarded  the  appearance  of  the  Messiah. 
Still  the  eyes  of  the  Jews  remained  unopened  ;  and  many 
of  them  assembled  near  Jerusalem,  and  celebrated  a  so- 
lemn fast,  in  order  that  they  might  propitiate  Jehovah,  and 
accelerate  their  deliverance.  At  the  close  also  of  the  15th 
century,  Ismael  Sophy,  a  young  prince  who  was  in  fact  a 
Mahometan,  and  who  afterwards  ascended  the  throne  of 
Persia,  assumed  the  name  of  a  prophet ;  and  the  Jews, 
dazzled  by  his  valor  and  the  celerity  of  his  successes,  in- 
dulged the  notion  of  his  being  their  promised  Messiah. 
In  the  year  1509,  an  infamous  Jew  of  Cologn  is  said  to 
have  arrogated  the  appellation  of  the  Messiah.  About  the 
same  time^  also,  Jacob  Melstinski  appropriated  to  himself 
the  same  lofty  title,  and,  traversing  Poland  and  Silesia  at 
the  head  of  twelve  pretended  apostles  whom  he  had  chosen- 
deluded  multitudes  of  people.  And  in  the  year  1534, 
rabbi  Salomo  Malcha,  having  declared  himself  the  Mes- 
siah, was  bui-nt  in  Spain  by  order  of  Charles  the  Vth. 

The  17th  century  was  still  more  favorable  to  credulity, 
arid  still  more  fruitful  in  imposture.  In  the  early  part  of  it, 
a  false  Messiah  arose  in  the  East  Indies  and  in  the  Portu- 
guese city  of  Goa  ;  and  deceived  great  numbers  of  the  de- 
scendants of  Abraham,  who  sighed  for  the  recovery  of 
liberty  and  independence.  At  Amsterdam,  and  in  the  year 
1624,  there  appeared  another  Impostor,  a  Jew  of  Germany, 
who  declared  that  he  had  seen  the  Messiah  at  Strasburgh, 
and  announced  the  mighty  victories  he  was  to  accomplish. 

But  his  fame  was  greatly  eclipsed  by  Sabatai  Sevi,  the 
son  of  a  poulterer  of  Aleppo,  a  man  of  learning,  and,  as 
there  is  reason  to  believe,  at  once  a  fanatic  and  an  impostor. 
As  the  accounts  respecting  him,  from  his  comparatively 
recent  appearance,  have  more  of  copiousness  and  authen- 
ticity, than  the  narratives  of  Imposture  can  commonly  be 
known  to  possess,  I  shall  perhaps  be  authorised  in  citing  a 
long   passage   from  bishop    Kidder,  the   third  volume  of 

Vol.  II.  G  g 


234  CHAP.    XXIX. 

whose  work  on  the  Messias  was  published  in  the  year  1700, 
34  or  Z5  years  after  the  commencement  of  the  imposture 
of  Sabatai  Sevi.  But  long  as  it  is,  it  is  only  a  part  of  what  the 
bishop  has  related  respecting  him.  In  the  year  1666,  says 
the  prelate,  '  Sabatai  Sevi  appeared  at  Smyrna,  and  pro- 
fessed himself  to  be  the  Messias.  He  promised  the  Jews 
deliverance  and  a  prosperous  kingdom.  This  which  he 
promised  they  firmly  believed ;  the  Jews  now  attended  to 
no  business,  discoursed  of  nothing  but  their  return.  They 
believed  Sabatai  to  be  the  Messias,  as  firmly  as  we  Chris- 
tians believe  any  article  of  faith.  A  right  reverend  person 
then  in  Turkey,  told  me,  that  meeting  with  a  Jew  of  his 
acquaintance  at  Aleppo,  he  asked  the  Jew,  what  he  thought 
of  Sabatai.  The  Jew  replied,  that  he  believed  him  to  be 
the  Messias,  and  that  he  was  so  far  of  that  belief,  that,  if 
he  should  prove  an  impostor,  he  would  then  turn  Christian. 
It  will  be  very  fit  I  should  be  very  particular  in  this  rela- 
tion, because  the  history  is  so  very  surprising  and  remark- 
able ;  and  we  have  an  account  of  it  from  those,  who-  were 
then  in  Turkey,  and  are  now  alive.  I  am  so  well  satisfied 
as  to  the  facts,  that  I  dare  vouch  for  the  truth  of  the  rela- 
tion, and  appeal  for  the  truth  of  it  to  very  many  persons  of 
great  credit  who  are  now  alive. — At  Gaza  Sabatai  preached 
repentance  (together  with  a  faith  in  himself)  so  effectually, 
that  the  people  gave  themselves  up  to  their  devotions  and 
alms.  The  noise  of  this  Messias  began  to  fill  all  places. — 
Throughout  Turkey  the  Jews  were  in  great  expectation  of 
glorious  times.  They  now  were  devout  and  penitent,  that 
they  might  not  obstruct  the  good  which  they  hoped  for. 
Some  fasted  so  long  that  they  were  famished  to  death ; 
others  buried  themselves  in  the  earth  till  their  limbs  grew 
stiff;  some  would  endtrre  melted  M^ax  dropped  on  their 
flesh ;  some  rolled  in  the  snow ;  others  in  a  cold  season 
would  put  themselves  into  cold  water  ;  and  many  whipped 
themselves.  Business  was  laid  aside  ;  superfluities  of 
household  utensils  were  sold  ;  the  poor  were  provided  for 
by  immense  contributions.  Sabatai  comes  to  Smyrna,  where 
he  was  adored  by  the  people,  though  the  Chacham  contra- 


CHAP.  XXIX,  235 

dieted  him,  for  which  he  was  removed  from  his  office. 
There  he  in  writing  styles  himself  the  only  and  frst-born 
Son  ofGod^  the  Messias^  the  Saviour  of  Israel. ''  Whilst  the 
Jews  in  their  synagogues  had  been  accustomed  to  *  pray 
for  the  Grand  Seignior,  he  orders  those  prayers  to  be  for- 
born  for  the  future,  thinking  it  an  indecent  thing  to  pray 
for  him,  who  was  shortly  to  be  his  captive  ;  and,  instead 
of  praying  for  the  Turkish  emperor,  he  appoints  prayers 
for  himself,  as  another  author  relates.  And,  as  my  author 
goes  on,  he  elected  princes  to  govern  the  Jews  in  their 
march  towards  the  Holy  Land,  and  to  minister  justice  to 
them  when  they  should  be  possessed  of  it.'  After  declar- 
ing that  he  was  appointed  by  heaven  to  visit  Constantino- 
ple, he  went  thither,  and  was  thrown  into  prison  by  the 
Vizier.  Still,  however,  *  the  Jews  pay  him  their  visits, 
and  they  of  this  city  are  now  as  much  infatuated  as  those 
of  Smyrna.  They  forbid  traffic,  and  refused  to  pay  their 
debts.  Some  of  our  English  merchants,  not  knowing  how 
to  recover  their  debts  from  the  Jews,  took  this  occasion  to 
visit  Sabatai,  and  make  their  complaints  to  him  against  his 
subjects.  Whereupon  he  wrote  this  following  letter  to  the 
Jews  :' 

"  To  you  of  the  nation  of  the  Jexvs^  who  expect  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  Messias^  and  the  salvation  of  Israel^  peace 
without  end.  Whereas  we  are  informed.^  that  you  are  in- 
dehted  to  several  of  the  English  7iation^  it  seemeth  right  unto 
us  to  order  you  to  make  satisfaction  to  these  your  just  debts  ; 
which  if  you  refuse  to  do,  and  not  obey  us  herein^  know  you, 
that  then  you  are  not  to  enter  with  us  into  our  Joys  and  do- 
minions.^^ 

*  Sabatai  remained  a  prisoner  in  Constantinople  by  the 
space  of  two  months.  The  Grand  Vizier,  designing  for 
Candia,  thought  it  not  safe  to  leave  him  in  the  city,  during 
the  Grand  Seignior's  absence  jyid  his  own.  He  therefore 
removed  him  to  the  Dardanelli ;  a  better  air  indeed,  but 
yet  out  of  the  way ;  and  consequently  importing  less  dan- 
ger to  the  city :  which  occasioned  the  Jews  to  conclude, 


236  CHAP.  XXIX, 

that  the  Turks  could  not,  or  durst  not  take  away  his  life, 
which  had,  they  concluded,  been  the  surest  way  to  have 
removed  all  jealousy.  The  Jews  flocked  in  great  num- 
bers to  the  castle  where  he  was  a  prisoner ;  not  only  those 
that  were  near,  but  from  Poland,  Germany,  Leghorn,  Ve- 
nice, and  other  places.  They  received  Sabatai's  blessings 
and  promises  of  advancement. — The  Jews  of  the  city  paid 
Sabatai  Sevi  great  respect.  They  decked  their  synagogues 
with  S.  S.  in  letters  of  gold,  and  made  for  him,  in, the  wall, 
a  croAvn  :  they  attributed  the  same  titles  and  prophecies  to 
him  which  we  apply  to  our  Saviour.'  At  length  being  or- 
dered into  the  presence  of  the  Grand  Seignior,  and  required 
to  perform  a  miracle,  he  was  obliged,  in  order  to  save  his 
life,  to  profess  Mahometanism.  '  During  these  things,  the 
Jews,  instead  of  minding  their  trade  and  traffic,  filled  their 
letters  with  news  of  Sabatai,  their  Messias,  and  his  won- 
derful works.  They  reported  that  when  the  Grand  Seig- 
nior sent  to  take  him,  he  caused  all  the  messengers,  that 
were  sent,  to  die.'  In  consequence  of  these  and  other  re- 
ports, '■  the  Jews  of  Italy  sent  legates  to  Smyrna,  to  inquire 
into  the  truth  of  these  matters.' 

In  the  year  1682  appeared  rabbi  Mordechai,  who  was 
famous,  among  his  countrymen  in  Germany,  for  his  attain- 
ments in  learning  and  his  austerity  of  life.  He  laid  claim 
to  the  prophetic  character  and  to  the  title  of  the  Messiah. 
By  the  Italian  Jews  he  was  extremely  caressed  ;  and  the 
genuineness  of  his  credentials  was  admitted  by  them  and 
many  of  the  Jews  of  Germany.  As  late  as  the  year  1703 
another  impostor,  named  Daniel  Israel,  deluded  the  Jews 
of  Smyrna.  He  pretended  to  perform  various  miracles  ; 
and  asserted,  that  Sabatai  Sevi  was  still  alive,  and  would 
shortly  emerge  from  the  place  of  his  concealment,  and  glo- 
riously deliver  the  Jews  from  their  present  state  of  disper- 
sion and  ignominy.  Nor  was  he  admired  and  followed 
pnly  by  the  crowd,  many  of  whom  celebrated  the  day  of 
the  nativity  of  Sabatai  Sevi,  and  anxiously  expected  his 
appearance  :  the  lying  declarations  of  this  impostor  of  the 
18th  century  were  also  vindicated  and  approved  by  the  rab= 


CHAP.  XXIX.  037 

bins  :  but,  at  length,  he  was  expelled  from  Smyrna  by  the 

governor  of  that  city,  and  great  was  the  disturbance,  which 

is  banishment  occasioned  among  its  Jewish  inhabitants^^ 

This  long  narrative  I  shall  conclude  by  observing,  that 
it  contains  ample  evidence  of  the  fulfilment  of  one  of  the 
prophecies  of  Jesus,  I  am  come  in  my  Father'' s  name^  said 
our  Lord  to  the  Jews,  and  ye  receive  me  not :  if  another 
shall  come  in  his  oxvn  name^  him  ye  will  receive''^. 

Basnage,  who  wrote  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, in  the  chapter  which  treats  on  the  Present  State  of  the 
jfews, '  says,  •■  They  still  consider  themselves  Avith  their  an- 
cient haughtiness  as  the  people  of  God. — They  always  are 
expecting  a  glorious  return,  which  shall  raise  them  above 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  They  flatter  themselves,  that 
this  deliverance  will  speedily  arrive,  though  they  are  igno- 
rant of  the  time*^^.' 

On  the  state  of  the  Jews  in  the  last  century,  and  there  is 
no  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  greatly  altered,  I  shall  quote 
the  words  of  Luzzati,  a  rabbi  who  taught  at  Venice  in  that 
century.  "  It  is  a  difficult  thing,"  says  Luzzati,  "  to  give 
an  exact  account  of  the  number  of  the  Jews,  who  are  at 
present  dispersed  into  so  many  places.     We  cannot  tell  any 


95  For  the  facts  respecting'  the  Jewish  impostors  see  Basnage's  History 
nf  the  Jews  (p.  516,  518,  551,  564,  577,  597,  631,  633,  664,  697,  699,  701, 
730,  731,  7o^,7S7)  ;  bishop  Newton's  Dissertations  on  Prophecy  (vol.  III. 
p.  42)  ;  Jortin's  Remarks  on  Ecclesiastical  History  (vol.  II.  p.  361 — 366)  ; 
bishop  Kidder's  Demonstration  of  the  Messias  (vol.  III.  p.  394 — 421)  ; 
and  Dion  Cassius  (Lemicla\ii,  Hanovis,  1606,  lib.  LXIX.  p.  794). 

96  John  V.  43.  To  come  in  his  oivn  name,  says  Dr.  Whitby,  '  is  to  come 
vlthout  commission  or  testimony  from  God.'  Of  Dr.  Clarke's  paraphrase 
on  these  words  the  following  is  the  principal  part.  •'  Ye  reject  me,  I  say, 
principally  for  this  very  reason,  because  I  seek  not  temporal  interests,  nei- 
ther set  up  myself  as  the  head  of  a  sect  in  the  way  of  worldly  pride  ?ind  ambi- 
tion ;  but  preach  to  you  plainly  in  the  name  of  God  my  Father. — If  ano- 
ther should  come,  pretending-  himself  to  be  tJie  Messias  ;  though  without 
any  of  that  evidence  of  divine  authority,  wliich  I  iiave  brought  along  with 
with  me  ;  and  should  set  up  liimself  to  be  a  great  person  ;  promising  you 
for  your  service  worldly  power  and  dignity,  and  suffering  you  quietly  to  go 
fiU  in  your  vices  ;  him  you  would  entertain  and  follow  with  all  eagerness.' 

97  P  748. 


238  CHAP.  XXIX. 

certain  news-  of  the  ten  tribes  Salmanazar   carried  away ; 
and  it  is  not  known  where  they  are,  though  the  whole  world 
be  sufficiently  known.     To  begin  with  the  East.     We  know, 
that  there  are  abundance  of  Jews  in  the  kingdom  of  Persia, 
though  they  have  but  little  liberty.     The  Turkish  empire  is 
their  chief  retreat,  not  only  because  they  have  been  settled 
there  a  long  time,  but  because   a  great  many  of  those  that 
were  banished  out  of  Spain  retired  thither.  There  are  more 
of  them  at  Constantinople  and  Salonichi,  than  in  any  other 
place.     They  reckon  above  fourscore  thousand  in  these  two 
cities,  and  about  a  million  in  the  Grand  Seignior's  empire. 
A  great  number  of  pilgrims  come  from  all  corners  of  the 
world  to  Jerusalem,  and  considerable  sums  are  sent  thither 
to  sustain  the  poor,  and  keep  up  the  academies.     There  are 
a  great  many  of  them  in  Germany  in  the  emperor's  domi- 
nions; but  they  are  more  numerous  in  Poland,  Lithuania, 
and  Russia:  here  we  have  academies  and  disciples  by  thou- 
sands, who   study  our  civil   and  canon  laws,  because   we 
are  allowed  the  privilege  of  judging  the  civil  and  criminal 
cases,  that  happen  in  the  nation.     There  are   not  so  many 
Jews  in  the  Protestant  states  which  separate  from  the  Ro- 
man church  ;  but  yet  they  treat  them  with  a  great  deal  of 
charity  and  indulgence  in  the  low  countries  ;  at  Rotterdam, 
Amsterdam,  and  Hamburg,  because  these   merchandising 
cities  are  open  to  foreigners.    All  the  Italian  princes  receive 
the  Jews,  countenance  them,  protect  them,  and  inviolably 
maintain    their   privileges   without  altering  them ;    and    I 
believe    there  are   not  less  than   25,000    in  this    country. 
Fez,  and  Morocco,  and  the  other  neighboring  cities,  which 
are  not  subject  to  the  Turk,  contain  the  greater  numbers, 
because  they  are  not  remote  from  Spain  or  Portugal,  from 
whence  they  may  retire  thither.     There  are  other  places 
upon  the  coast  of  Africa,  which  are  also  peopled  with  Jews  ; 
but,  as  we  know  but  little  of  them,  it  is  hard  to  fix  the  num- 
ber^." 

98  Simon  Luzzati  Discorzo  circa  il  stuto  degii  Hebrei,  c.  18.  The  quota- 
tion above  is  immediately  taken  from  the  Eng-lish  translation,  of  Basnag^'s 
History  of  the  jfews,  p.  744. 


CHAP.  xxix.  239 

The  Jews,  says  bishop  Law,  *  are  universally  believed 
to  be  more  numerous  in  the  whole  at  present,  than  they 
have  ever  been  in  their  most  flourishing  estate,  in  their  own 
lancF.' 

'  Some  appearances,*  says  Dr.  Worthington,  *■  indicate  a 
working  towards  their  conversion  and  restoration.  Dr. 
Jackson"*  observes,  "  that  the  continuation  of  their  former 
plagues  seemeth  much  interrupted,"  and  "  the  plagues 
themselves  much  mitigated,  in  this  last  age,  since  the  gos- 
pel hath  been  again  revealed,  as  if  their  misery  were  almost 
expired,  and  the  day  of  their  redemption  drawing"  nighJ'' 
On  the  other  hand,  they  do  not  shew  that  extreme  malice 
towards  Christians,  nor  Christians  that  hatred  of  them, 
which  they  formerly  exercised  towards  each  other.  The 
good  usage,  which,  in  these  latter  ages,  they  have  met  with 
from  Christians,  hath  undoubtedly  abated  their  prejudices, 
and  conciliated  their  minds  to  them  ;  and  a  continuance  of 
the  same  justice  and  lenity  may,  with  God's  blessing,  con- 
tribute greatly  to  prepare  them  for,  and  by  degrees  bring 
about,  their  conversion'"'.' 

Though  these  observations  of  Dr.  Worthington  are  upon 
the  whole  correct :  we  are  not,  I  conceive,  authorised  in 
speaking  of  *  the  good  usage,'  which  the  follov/ers  of  Moses 
have  experienced  from  the  disciples  of  Christ  during  '  these 
latter  ages.'  The  treatment  df  the  former,  either  from  go- 
vernments or  from  individuals,  has  not,  till  very  lately,  been 
in  any  degree  mild  or  liberal.  Even  of  those  whose  preju- 
dices have  been  softened  by  literature,  not  a  few  have  beea 
disposed  to  keep  the  posterity  of  Abraham,  still  loaded 
with  shackles,  and  still  discouraged  by  depression.  In  the 
last  chapter  of  the  last  volume  of  his  Demonstration  of  the 
Messias'^^,  bishop  Kidder  has  interspersed  some  abserva- 
tions  relative  to  the  means  of  converting  the  Jews ;  but,  of 


99  Law's  Theory  of  Religion,  3d  ^d.  p.  164. 

100  Dr.  Th.  Jackson's  Works,  vol.  I.  p.  153. 

101  Dr.  Wortliing^on,  vol.  II.  p.  64. 

102  This  volume  was  published  in  the  year  1700. 


240  CHAl'.    XXIX. 

the  methods  which  he  specihes,  some  are  very  ill  adapted 
to  accomplish  the  intended  effect.  He  recommends,  that 
the  Jews  should  be  compelled  occasionally  to  attend  at 
places  of  Christian  worship,  and  to  hear  the  sermons  preached 
there;  that  they  should  be  obliged  to  engage  in  conferences 
with  Christian  divines  ;  that  they  should  not  '  have  the 
liberty  to  use  what  prayers  they  please'  in  their  synagogues  ; 
that  the  government  should  force  the  richer  Jews  to  main- 
tain their  poorer  brethren,  as  they  have  been  used  to  do, 
though  they  should  reject  Judaism  and  embrace  Christiani- 
ty ;  and  that  the  Jews  should  continue  to  be  excluded  from 
places  of  honor  and  power,  and  from  enjoying  the  freedom 
of  the  press.  Accordingly  having  observed,  that  rabbi 
Aben  Amram  complained  greatly,  that  the  Jews  possessed 
not  '  the  liberty  of  the  press ;'  he  is  careful  to  clear  him- 
self from  the  most  distant  imputation  of  being  an  advocate, 
for  their  using  so  horrid  an  engine  as  the  press  :  a  far  more 
mischievous  discovery,  in  the  eye's  of  civil  tyrants  and  in- 
terested prelates,  than  that  of  gun-powder,  or  any  the  most 
destructive  invention,  which  the  boldest  flight  of  the  hu- 
man imagination  can  conceive.  '  Far  be  it  from  me,'  says 
the  bishop,  '  for  pleading  for  any  such  liberty  as  that.'  And 
he  afterwards  adds,  that  it  is  undoubtedly  '  a  very  great 
favor  in  Christian  kings  and  states  to  permit  the  Jews  to 
live  in  their  several  kingdoms  and  countries  without  dis- 
turbance ;'  and  that  '  nothing  can  be  more  adviseable  than 
to  keep  them  low'°^.' 

Dr.  Hartley,  in  addition  to  the  arguments  from  prophecy 
which  he  has  alleged  to  prove,  that  the  Jews  will  return  to 
Palestine,  notices  some  concurring  evidences,  which  the 
existing  circumstances  of  that  people  suggest.  After  ob- 
serving in  the  first  place,  that  they  '  are  yet  a  distinct  peo- 
ple from  all  the  nations  amongst  which  they  reside  ;  he 
says,  '  Secondly^  they  are  to  be  found  in  all  the  countries  of 
the  known  v.^orld.  And  this  agrees  with  many  remarkable 
passages  of  the  scriptures,  which  treat   both  of  their  dis- 


103  Vol.  III.  p.  455—487. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  241 

persion  and  of  their  return.  Thirdly^  they  have  no  inherit- 
ance of  land  in  any  country.  Their  possessions  are  chiefly 
money  and  jewels.  They  may,  therefore,  transfer  them- 
selves with  the  greater  facility  to  Palestine.  Fourthly^  they 
are  treated  with  contempt  and  harshness,  and  sometimes 
with  great  cruelty,  by  the  nations  amongst  whom  they  so- 
journ. They  must  therefore  be  the  more  ready  to  return 
to  their  own  land.  Fifthly^  they  carry  on  a  correspondence 
with  each  other  throughout  the  whole  world ;  and  conse- 
quently must  both  know  when  circumstances  begin  to  favor 
their  return,  and  be  able  to  concert  measures  with  one 
another  concerning  it.  Sixthly^  a  great  part  of  them  speak 
and  write  the  rabbinical  Hebrew,  as  well  as  the  language  of 
the  country  where  they  reside.  They  are  therefore,  as  far 
as  relates  to  themselves,  actually  possessed  of  an  universal 
language  and  character ;  which  is  a  circumstance  that  mav 
facilitate  their  return,  beyond  what  can  well  be  imagined. 
Seventhly^  the  Jews  themselves  still  retain  a  hope  and  ex- 
pectation, that  God  will  once  more  restore  them  to  their 
own  land'°-*.' 

Their  establishment  in  Judea,  it  may  be  added,  will  be 
of  the  more  easy  accomplishment,  because  the  detestable 
government  of  the  Turks  has,  in  a  degree  almost  incredible, 
depopulated  Judea,  Syria,  and  the  fertile  countries  which 
are  contiguous,  and  therefore  there  will  be  ample  territo- 
ries for  them  to  inhabit  and  to  cultivate.  '  The  total 
population  of  Syria,'  says  Volney,  *  may  be  estimated  at 
2,305,000  souls.'  But  '■  let  us  suppose  it  two  millions  and 
a  half,  and  since  Syria  contains  about  5250  square  leagues, 
at  the  rate  of  150  in  length  and  Z5  in  breadth,  we  shall  have 
upon  an  average  476  inhabitants  for  every  square  league. 
So  feeble  a  population  in  so  excellent  a  country  may  well 
excite  our  astonishment,  but  this  will  be  still  encreased,  if 
we  compare  the  present  number  of  inhabitants,  with  that  of 
ancient  times. — From  the  accounts  we  have  of  Judea  in  the 


104  On  Man,  vol.  II.  p.  "ri. 

Vol.  II.  H  h 


242  GHAP.  XXIX, 

time  of  Titus,  and  which  are  to  be  esteemed  tolerably  accu- 
rate, that  country  must  have  contained  four  millions  of 
inhabitants. — If  we  go  still  farther  back  into  antiquity,  we 
shall  find  the  same  populousness  among  the  Philistines,  the 
Phoenicians,  and  in  the  kingdoms  of  Samaria  and  Damas- 
cus. It  is  true,  that  some  writers,  reasoning  from  what 
they  see  in  Europe,  have  called  in  question  these  facts  ;, 
several  of  which,  indeed,  appeared  to  be  disputable ;  but 
the  comparisons  on  which  they  build  are  not  on  that  account 
the  less  erroneous  ;  first,  because  the  lands  of  Asia  in  ge- 
neral are  more  fertile  than  those  of  Europe  ;  secondly^ 
because  a  part  of  these  lands  are  capable  of  being  cultivated, 
and  in  fact  are  cultivated,  without  lying  fallow  or  requiring 
manure  ;  thirdly,  because  the  Orientals  consume  one  half 
less  for  their  subsistence  than  the  inhabitants  of  the  West- 
em  world,  in  general :  for  all  which  reasons  it  appears,  that  a 
territory  of  less  extent  may  contain  double  and  treble  the 
population.  These  authors  exclaim  against  the  armies  of 
two  and  three  hundred  thousand  men,  furnished  by  states, 
which  in  Europe  would  not  produce  above  twenty  or  thirty 
thousand  ;  but  it  is  not  considered,  that  the  constitutions  of 
ancient  nations  were  wholly  different  from  ours  ;  that  these 
nations  were  purely  cultivators  ;  that  there  was  less  ine- 
quality, and  less  idleness  than  among  us  ;  that  every  culti- 
vator was  a  soldier ;  that  in  war  the  army  frequently 
consisted  of  the  whole  nation. — Without  appealing  to  the 
positive  testimony  of  history,  there  are  innumerable  monu- 
ments, which  depose  in  favor  of  the'  great  population  of 
high  antiquity.  '  Such  are  the  prodigious  quantity  of  ruins 
dispersed  over  the  plains,  and  even  in  the  mountains,  at  this 
day  deserted.  On  the  most  remote  parts  of  Carmel  are 
found  wild  vines  and  olive  trees,  which  must  have  been 
conveyed  thither  by  the  hand  of  man  ;  and,  in  the  Lebanon 
of  the  Druzes  and  Maronites,  the  rocks,  now  abandoned 
to  fir-trees  and  brambles,  present  us  in  a  thousand  places 
with  terraces,  which  prove  they  were  anciently  better  cul- 


CHAP.  XXIX.  243 

tivated,  and  consequently  much  more  populous  than  in  our 
days'°5.' 

It  is  in  the  name  of  Almighty  God,  that  Ezckiel  says, 
And  I  will  multiply  men  upon  you^  all  the  house  of  Israel^ 
even  all  of  it;  and  the  cities  shall  be  inhabited^  and  the 
wastes  shall  be  builded:  and  I  will — do  better  unto  you 
than  at  your  beginnings. — And  the  desolate  land  shall  be 
tilled^  xvhereas  it  lay  desolate  in  the  sight  of  all  that  passed 
by.  And  they  shall  say,  this  land  that  xvas  desolate  is  beco?ne 
like  the  garden  of  Eden:  and  the  zuaste  and  desolate  and 
ruined  cities  are  become  fenced  and  are  inhabited.  Then  the 
heathen  that  are  left  round  about  you  shall  know,  that  I  the 
Lord  build  the  ruined  places,  and  plant  that  that  was  deso- 
late :  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it,  and  I  will  do  it^^. 

After  having  stated  Dr.  Hartley's  genera/ arguments,  on 
the  practicability  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to  the  coun- 
try of  their  ancestors,  it  may  not  be  unallowable  to  enter 
into  the  field  of  conjecture,  and  concisely  to  state  the  more 
immediate  causes,  which  may  possibly  contribute  to  their 
migration  and  their  establishment  in  Palestine.  Should  the 
Turkish»empire  be  overturned  by  Russia,  and  should  many 
of  the  Jews  discover  an  inclination  to  settle  in  Palestine, 
which  it  is  likely  they  would  do  on  the  event  of  so  impor- 
tant a  revolution ;  it  is  by  no  means  improbable,  that  the 
policy  of  the  Russian  government  would  embrace  an  oppor- 
tunity of  colonising  without  expence  a  country,  possessed 
of  so  many  natural  advantages,  but  which  is,  at  present,  so 
scantily  inhabited,  and  so  imperfectly  cultivated.  In  such 
a  climate,  and  under  such  circumstances,  the  first  settlers  » 
would  be  likely  to  prosper;  and,  having  prospered,  it  surely 
is  not  irrational  to  conjecture,  that  they  would  be  followed 
by  greater  numbers,  and  at  length  by  the  general  mass  of 
their  countrymen,  encouraged,  as  they  would  be,  by  the 

105  Volney's  Travels  through  Syria  and  Eg-ypt,  vol.  II.  p.  365. 

106  Ch.  xxxvi.  10,  11,  34,  35,  36.  This  chapter  of  Ezekiel  contains, 
says  Mr.  Lo%rth,  •  a  prediction  of"  the  general  r."storation  both  of  Israel 
and  Judah.' 


244  CHAP.  XXIX. 

predictions  of  the  Hebrew  scriptures,  and  animated  by  the 
hope  of  attaining  to  national  independence  and  personal  se- 
curity. Now  should  the  Russian  empire,  alread)^  greatly 
superior  in  point  of  magnitude  to  any  permanent  empire 
which  has  ever  existed,  in  consequence  of  her  insatiable 
ambition  and  the  progress  of  her  arms,  become  still  more 
extensive  ;  and  should  the  various  climes  under  her  domi- 
nion be  afterwards  governed  by  the  rash  and  fluctuating 
counsels  of  a  feeble  prince  ;  it  can  hardly  be  a  matter  of 
doubt,  that  the  unwieldy  and  ill-compacted  fabric,  requiring 
the  most  steady  and  discerning  hand  to  direct  its  multifari- 
ous movements,  and  containing  within  itself  the  principles 
of  discordancy  and  dissolution,  would,  in  a  short  time,  fall 
to  pieces,  and  its  disunited  fragments  be  so  arranged  as  to 
form  separate  governments.  Amid  these  changes  and  con- 
vulsions, it  is  easy  to  conceive,  that  some  of  the  provinces 
of  Syria,  Avhich  the  Jews  had  recently  colonised,  might, 
with  little  difficulty,  and  Avithout  any  violation  of  justice,  be 
erected  into  an  independent  and  respectable  state. 

But  however  easy,  as  we  may  conjecture^  may  be  the  set- 
tlement of  the  Jews  in  Palestine,  there  are  prophecies  in 
the  Old  Testament,  which  lead  us  to  expect,  that  they  will 
not  remain  unmolested  in  the  possession  of  their  country. 

The  following  propecy  is  extracted  from  the  xxxviiith  ch. 
of  Ezekiel.  The  -word  of  yehovah  came  also  unto  me,  say- 
ing :  So)i  of  man,  set  thy  face  against  Gog  of  the  la?id  of 
Magog,  prince  of  Rhos,  Meshech,  and  Tubal,  and  prophesy 
against  him,  and  say,  thus  saith  the  Lord  fehovah  :  behold 
I  am  against  thee,  0  Gog. — Thou  shalt  go  up,  as  a  storm 
Cometh,  thou  shalt  be  as  a  cloud  to  cover  the  land ;  thou  and 
all  thy  bands,  and  many  people  ivith  thee.  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  Jehovah  :  it  shall  come  to  pass  at  the  same  time,  that 
things  shall  arise  in  thine  heart,  and  thou  shalt  think  an  evil 
thought ;  and  shalt  say,  I xv ill  go  up  to  the  land  of  unxvalled 
villages;  and  J -will  go  to  them  that  are  at  rest,  that  dwell 
safely  ;  all  of  them  dxvelling  xvithout  xvalls,  and  having  nei- 
ther bars  nor  gates :  to  take  a  spoil,  and  to  divide  a  prey  ;  to 
turn  mine  hand  against  the  desolate  places  tliat  are  become 


CHAP.  XXIX.  345 

inhabited^  and  against  a  people  gathered  out  of  the  nations^ 
possessing  cattle  and  goods,  dwelling  in  the  middle  of  th€ 
earth. — In  that  day,  rvhen  my  people  Israel  dwelleth  securely, 
slialt  thou  not  rise  up  and  come  from  thy  place,  from  the  north- 
quarters,  thou  and  many  people  xvitli  thee,  all  them  riding 
upon  horses,  a  great  company,  and  a  mighty  army  P  Shalt 
thou  not  come  up  against  my  people  as  a  cloud  to  cover  the 
land  P  Shall  it  not  be  in  the  latter  days,  that  I  will  bring 
thee  against  my  latid ;  that  the  nations  7nay  know  me,  zuhen 
I  shall  be  sanctified  in  thee,  0  Gog,  before  their  eyes  P — Art 
not  thou  he,  of  rvhom  I  spake  in  old  time  by  my  servants  the 
prophets  of  Israel,  zvho  prophesied  in  those  days  and  years, 
that  I  zuould  bring  thee  against  them^°^.  And  in  the  next 
chapter  the  prophet  says :  And  I  will  turji  thee  back,  arid 
leave  but  a  sixth  part  of  thee,  zuhen  I  cause  thee  to  came  up 
from  the  north-quarters,  and  bring  thee  upon  the  mountains 
of  Israel. — Thou  slialt  fall  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel, 
thou  and  all  thy  bands,- and  the  many  people  that  are  zvith 
thee. — And  I  will  set  my  glory  among  the  nations;  and  all 
the  nations  shall  see  my  judgment  which  I  have  executed,  and 
mine  harid  xvhich  I  have  laid  upon  them. — And  the  people  of 
Israel  shall  know  that  I  am  Jehovah  their  God,  in  that  I 
caused  them  to  be  carried  azvay  captives  among  the  nations, 
and  afterzvards  collected  them  into  their  ozvn  land.  And  none 
of  them  zvill  I  leave  there  any  more,  neither  hide  my  face 
any  more  from  them^°'^. 

In  his  argument  to  the  xxxviiith  and  xxxixth  chapters  of 
Ezekiel,  Mr.  Lowth  says,  '  the  prophecy,  contained  in  this 
and  the  following  chapter  concerning  Israel's  victory  over 
Gog  and  Magog,  v/ithout  question  relates  to  the  latter  ages 
of  the  world,  when  the  whole  house  of  Israel  shall  return 


107  '  The  expressions  here  used,  of  old  times,  and  -which  prophesied  iji 
those  days  and  years,  plainly  imply,  that  there  was  to  he  a  succession  of 
many  ages  between  the  publishing'  those  prophecies  and  this  event  fore- 
told by  them.'     Mr.  Low^h  in  Loc. 

108  The  passages  above  are  copied  from  hp.  Newcome's  Improved  Ver- 
oion  of  Ezekiel, 


246  CHAP.  XXIX. 

into  their  own  land.'  And  in  commenting  on  the  8th  v.  of 
ch.  xxxviii  he  says,  '  the  sense  is,  that  after  the  return  of 
the  people  of  Israel  into  their  own  country,  and  their  hav- 
ing lived  there  for  some  time  in  peace  and  safety,  this  enemy 
will  think  to  take  advantage  of  their  security,  and  fall  upon 
them  unexpectedly.' 

*  As  for  the  name  Gog\  it  signifies,'  says  Mede,  '  the  veiy 
same  with  Magogs  for  mein  is  but  an  Hemantic  letter ;  and 
it  pleased  the  spirit  of  God  to  take  away  this  first  syllable 
to  distinguish  between  the  people  and  the  land  of  the  peo- 
ple, calling  the  people  Gog  and  the  land  tire  land  of  Ma- 
gog^'^.\  That  the  Gog  and  Magog  of  the  Apocalypse""  can- 
not be  understood  of  the  Gog  and  Magog  of  Ezekiel,  this 
sagacious  commentator  has  remarked'" ;  and  I  regard  his 
observation  as  indubitable. 

Bochart,  one  of  the  most  learned  men  whom  France,  or 
indeed  Europe,  ever  produced,  after  observing,  that  among 
the  ancients,  it  was  the  opinion  of  Josephus,  Eustathius, 
Jerom,  and  Theodoret,  that  Magog  was  the  father  of  the 
Scythians  ;  and  that  this  opinion  is  perfectly  true  ;  alleges 
various  reasons  to  prove,  that  Magog  signifies  Scythia. 
The  beginning  of  the  passage  recently  quoted  from  Ezekiel 
may,  he  saj^s,  be  thus  paraphrased.  Prepare  yourself  to 
pi'ophecy  against  the  king  of  the  Scythians,  of  the  land  of 
Magog  or  Scythia,  who  is  aUo  the  prince  of  Rhos,  of  Me- 
shech,  and  of  Tubal"%  that  is,  of  the  districts  of  Araxene, 


109  Mede's  Works,  p.  574.-. 

110  Mentioned  ch.  xx.  v.  8,  9. 

111  See  liis  Works,  p.  751. 

112  J?hos  signifies,  says  Bochart,  those  who  inliabit  the  Araxene  of  the 
Greeks,  a  province  watered  by  the  Araxes  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Caspian.  Meshech  and  Tubal,  according  to  the  same  writer,  are  the  ap- 
pellations of  two  adjoining:  nations,  who  in  the  times  of  Grecian  antiquity 
were  called  the  Moschi  andw Tibareni,  who  had  immediately  to  the  North 
of  them  the  people  of  Gog,  and  who  themselves  inhabited  a  considerable 
part  of  the  Country  between  the  Euxine  and  the  Caspian,  and  to  the  Soutli 
of  the  Euxine.  See  the  Phaleg  of  Bocliart,  1.  iii.  c.  12-  See  also  a  simi- 
lar statement  in  the  commentary  of  that  learned  Benedictine,  Calmet. 
That  Magog,   Tubal,  and  Meshech  were  the  grandsons  of  Noah  and  the 


CHAP.  XXIX.  247 

Moschica,  and  Tibarenia,  countries  contiguous  to  each 
other,  and,  at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  the  prophecy, 
subject  to  the  Scythian  power. 

After  observing  that  the  territories  of  Tubal  were  situ- 
ated to  the  South-East  of  the  Euxine,  Mr.  Mede  speaks  of 
the  original  seat  of  the  posterity  of  Magog,  and  says, 
Magog,  '  with  the  consent  of  all  men,  we  place  North  of 
Tubal,  and  make  him  the  father  of  those  Scythians,  that 
dwelt  on  the  East  and  North-East  of  the  Euxine  sea.'  For 
this  we  have  also  an  '  argviment  from  the  report  of  Plinv, 
in  that  Scythopolis  and  Hierapolis,  which  these  Scythians 
took  when  they  overcame  Syria,  were  ever  after  by  the 
Syrians  called  Magog.'  In  course  of  time,  his  descendants, 
he  observes,  wou.ld  have  an  opportunity  of  spreading  over 
a  vast  extent  of  country,  and  of  penetrating  even  to  Nova 
Zembla"^ 

*  Magog^  says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  was  the  son  of  Japhet,  Gen. 
X.  2,  from  whence  the  Scythians  are  generally  supposed  to 
be  derived.  The  Mogul  Tartars,  a  people  of  Scythian  race, 
are  still  called  so  by  the  Arabian  writers.'  To  the  same 
purpose  speaks  bp.  Newcome.  In  '  Gen.  x.  2.'  says  he, 
'  we  learn,  that  Magog  was  the  second  son  of  Japhet. 
Ezekiel  uses  Magag  for  the  country  of  which  Gog  Avas 
prince.'  Michaelis  (Spic.  Geogr.  p.  34)  '  thinks,  that  Ma- 
gog denotes  those  vast  tracts  of  country  to  the  north  of 
India  and  China,  which  the  Greeks  called  Scythia,  and  we 
Tartary  — The  Arabs  call  the  Chinese  wall  Sud  Tagog  et 
3Iagog"'*^  that  is  Agger  Gog  et  Jlfagog^^^.^ 

Notwithstanding  the  Scythians  and  the  Tartars  are  ad- 
mitted to  be  the  ancient  aad  modern  names  of  the  same 
people,  and  notwithstanding  the  passages  which  have  been 

sons  of  Japhet,  we  are  told  in  the  2d  verse  of  the  xth  chapter  of  Genesl-i 
On  the  districts  of  Asia  which  tliey  colonised  and  gave  name  to,  Dr. 
Wells's  Historical  Geography  of  the  Old  Testament  may  alsp  be  consulted, 
vol.  I.  p.  154—159. 

113  Mede's  Works,  p.  374,  378. 

114  Hyde's  Works  by  Sharpe,  II.  426. 

115  Newcome  on  Ezek.  xxxviii.  2. 


248  CHAP.  XXIX. 

quoted  from  different  writers  appear  to  lead  to  a  very  plain 
conclusion ;  yet  I  have  not  met  with  a  single  commentator, 
who  states  it  to  be  his  opinion,  that  it  is  probable,  this  me- 
morable prophecy  of  Ezekiel  principally  relates  to  the 
Tartars.  '  By  Gog  and  Magog,'  says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  may 
most  probably  here  be  meant  the  Turks  ;'  and  both  Mede"^ 
and  bishop  Newton"''  speak  of  their  being  signified  in  these 
chapters  of  Ezekiel,  as  of  a  point  that  is  well  established. 
The  principal  reason  which  is  given  is,  that  the  Turks, 
though  they  have  now  inhabited  a  different  part  of  the  world 
for  centuries,  are  descended  from  the  Tartars  :  but  to  me,  I 
tonfess,  this  appears  far  from  being  satisfactory.  The 
Russians  and  the  Moscovites  having  been  supposed  by  some 
to  have  been  colonies  sent  out  from  the  people  of  Rosh  and 
Meshech  or  Mosoch  ;  Mr.  Bicheno  supposes"^,  that  the 
army  which  will  attack  the  newly  peopled  country  of  the 
Jews  will  consist  principally  of  Russians*  But  Mr.  Bicheno 
attempts  not  to  shcAv,  that  there  is,  or  that  there  ever  has 
been  thought  to  be,  any  conceivable  reason  for  explaining 
Gog  and  Magog  of  the  Russians ;  and  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered, that,  whoever  Gog  and  Magog  may  be  supposed  to 
be,  they  constitute  the  main  part  of  the  invading  army,  and 
that  the  others  are  lesser  powers  and  auxiliaries,  who  are 
to  march  under  the  banners  of  Gog. 

I  shall  now  briefly  allege  some  reasons  in  support  of  my 
conjecture^  that  this  formidable  army  will  principally  con- 
sist of  Tartars.  That  the  name  of  Gog  and  Magog  per- 
fectly agrees  with  that  idea  has  already  been  seen. 

Thou  shalt  come ^  says  Ezekiel,  from  thy  place  out  of  the 
North  Parts^^"^,  thou  and  manij  people  iv'ith  thee.  This  ac- 
count, it  is  plain,  corresponds  not  so  well  to  the  situation 
of  the  Turks,  who  are  principally  settled  in  the  warm  re- 
gions of  the  South,  as  to  that  of  the   Tartars,  who  inhabit 


116  P.  374,  751,  1000 

117  Vol.  II.  p.  187  ;  vol.  III.  p.  329- 

118  Si^ns  of  the  Times,  Part  II.  p.  45. 

119  XXXVIII.  15.     This  circumstance  is  repealed  again  xxxix.  2. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  249 

regions,  which  are  in  general  cold  and  are  extended  to  very 
Northern  latitudes.  That  the  invading  host  will  come 
from  a  distance,  the  words  of  Ezekiel,  it  may  be  added, 
seem  to  imply:  but  the  Turks,  at  present  at  least,  are 
situated  in  Judea  and  the  contiguous  countries*  Thoti 
shalt  say^  declares  the  prophet,  Ixvill  go  up  to  the  land  of 
unxualled  villages^ — to  take  a  spoils  and  to  take  a  prey.  And 
again,  Art  thou  come  to  take  a  spoil  ?  Hast  thou  gathered 
thy  compatiy  to  take  a  prey  ?  to  carry  axvay  silver  and  gold., 
to  take  axoay  cattle  and  goods.,  to  take  a  great  spoiP^°.  These 
particulars  appear  not  to  be  descriptive  of  the  '— gularly 
conducted  wars  of  the  Russians  or  the  Turks,  \i?£tch  are 
ordinarily  wars  of  aggrandisement  or  defence  ;  and  there 
certainly  seems  reasonable  ground  for  expectation,  that 
they  would  have  been  spoken  of  in  a  very  different  manner, 
had  they  been  the  Turks  come  to  recover  the  territories 
they  had  lost.  But  the  prophetic  statement  completely 
harmonises  with  the  general  character  of  Tartar  warfare, 
with  the  depredatory  spirit,  and  the  transitory  inroads,  of 
the  shepherds  of  the  North.  The  prophet  represents  them 
to  be  extremely  numerous,  as  being  like  a  cloud  which  shall 
cover  the  land ;  and  it  is  Avell  known,  that  there  is  no  na- 
tion, which  has  been  accustomed  to  bring  such  numerous 
forces  into  the  field  as  the  princes  of  Tartary.  They  are 
also  spoken  of  as  all  of  them  riding  upon  horses^  a  great 
companij^  and  a  mighty  army.  To  the  Tartars,  and  to  the 
Tartars  only,  this  description  exactly  corresponds ;  for 
there  is  no  other  nation  in  the  world,  who  constantly  make 
use  of  cavalry  alone'^^'  Ezekiel  likewise  says^",  Ixvill 
smite  thy  boxu  out  of  thy   left  hand.,  and  xvill  cause  thine  ar- 


120  XXXVIII.  11,  12,  13. 

121  *  Constant  practice,'  says  Gibbon,  had  seated  the  Scythians  *  so 
firnil)'  on  horseback,  that  they  were  supposed  by  strangers  to  perform  tlie 
ordinary  duties  of  civil  life,  to  eat,  to  drink,  and  evcri  to  sler-p,  witlionl. 
dismounting'  from  their  steeds.'     vol.  IV.  p.  !)48. 

122.  XXXIX.  3. 

Vol.  II.  \  \ 


250  GHAT>.   XXIX. 

roxvs  to  fall  out  of  thy  right  hatid^"^^;  and  it  is  observable, 
that  the  Tartars  in  every  age  have  encountered  their  ene- 
mies with  bows  and  arrows,  and  that  these  are  the  weapons 
which  they  still  employ,  in  this  respect  differing  both  from 
the  Russians  and  the  Turks. 

As  the  subject  is  in  itself  instructive  and  curious,  I  may 
be  indulged  in  quoting  from  Mr.  Gibbon  some  extracts 
respecting  the  manners  of  this  nation  of  shepherds.  At 
present  the  Tartar  tribes  are  deterred  from  planning  any 
schemes  of  invasion,  and  awed  into  traiiquillity,  by  the  ar- 
mies ^ti  the  fame  of  the  Ottoman  Porte,  and  still  more 
by  the^-mighty  strength  and  vigorous  administration  of  the 
Russian  monarchy.  But  should  these  empires  fall  to  pieces, 
the  subsequent  extracts  display  the  extreme  probability, 
that  the  Tartars,  laying  hold  of  this  favorable  opportunity 
for  the  renewal  of  foreign  hostilities,  will  make  a  new  and 
formidable  irruption  into  some  of  the  fertile  provinces  of 
Turkey'^"*. 

'  In  every  age,  the  immense  plains  of  Sc}thia,  orTartary, 
have  been  inhabited  by  vagrant  tribes  of  hunters  and  shep- 
herds, whose  indolence  refuses  to  cultivate  the  earth,  and 
whose  restless  spirit  disdains  the  confinement  of  a  sedentary 
life.  In  every  age  the  Scythians,  and  Tartars,  have  been 
renowned  for  their  invincible  courage,  and  rapid  conquests. 
The  thrones  of  Asia  have  been  repeatedly  overturned  by 
the  shepherds  of  the  North  ;  and  their  arms  have  spread 
terror  and  devastation  over  the  most  fertile  and  warlike 
countries  of  Europe.'  Many  circumstances,  indeed,  con- 
cur to  inspire  the  Tartars  Vi  ith  a  military  spirit,  and  to  en- 


123  See  the  Observations  annexed  to  the  Genealogical  History  of  the 
Tartars  by  Abulghazi  Khan,  1730,  vol.  II.  p.  400.  '  Most  of  the  Tartars,' 
says  the  author  of  tiic  observatit^ns,  '  hang^  their  bow  at  the  left  side,  in 
a  sort  of  case,  wlien  tiiey  take  horse  ;  but  they  carry  tlieir  quiver  upon 
their  backs.'  And  Mr.  Gibbon,  speaking  of  them,  says  (vol.  IV.  p.  350), 
•  the  long-  Tartar  bow  is  drawn  with  a  nervous  arm ;  and  the  weiglity  arrow- 
is  directed  to  its  object  with  unerring-  aim,  and  irresistibJe  strcng-th.' 

124  On  tlie  formidable  irruptions  of  the  Tartars  in  the  jth,  tlie  13th, 
and  the  14th  centuries  sec  the  note  in  vol.  II.  p.  115—118. 


LHAP.    XXIX.  251 

courage  their  invasion  of  countries  that  are  feebly  defended. 
This  will  appear,  if  an  attention  be  paid  to  their  diet,  their 
habitations,  and  their  exercises. 

'  In  the  military  profession,  and  especially  in  the  conduct 
of  a  numerous  army,  the  exclusive  use  of  animal  food  ap- 
pears to  be  productive  of  the  most  solid  advantages.  Corn 
is  a  bulky  and  perishable  commodity  ;  and  the  large  maga. 
zines,  which  are  indispensably  necessary  for  the  subsist- 
ence of  our  troops,  must  be  slowly  transported  by  the  labor 
of  men  or  horses.  But  the  flocks  and  herds,  which  accom- 
pany the  march  of  the  Tartars,  afford  a  sure  and  encreas- 
ing  supply  of  flesh  and  milk  :  in  the  far  greater  part  of  the 
uncultivated  waste  the  vegetation  of  the  grass  is  quick  and 
luxuriant;  and  there  are  few  places  so  extremely  barren, 
that  the  hardj'  cattle  of  the  North  cannot  find  some  toler- 
able pasture.  The  supply  is  multiplied  and  prolonged,  by 
the  undistinguished  appetite,  and  patient  abstinence,  of  the 
Taitars.  They  indiff'erently  feed  on  the  flesh  of  those  ani- 
mals, that  have  been  killed  for  the  table,  or  have  died  of 
disease. — The  active  cavalr\-  of  Scythia  is  alwavs  followed, 
in  their  most  distant  and  rapid  incursions,  by  an  adequate 
number  of  spare  horses,  who  may  be  occasionally  used, 
either  to  redouble  the  speed,  or  to  satisfy  the  hunger,  of  the 
Barbarians.  Many  are  the  resources  of  hunger  and  po- 
verty. When  the  forage  round  a  camp  of  Tartars  is  almost 
consumed,  they  slaughter  the  greatest  part  of  their  cattle, 
and  preserve  the  flesh,  either  smoked,  or  dried  in  the  sun. 
On  the  sudden  emergency  of  a  hasty  march,  they  provide 
themselves  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  little  balls  of  cheese 
or  rather  of  hard  curd,  Avhich  the)'  occasionally  dissolve  in 
water ;  and  this  unsubstantial  diet  will  support,  for  many 
days,  the  life,  and  even  the  spirits,  of  the  patient  warrior.' 

'  The  progress  of  manufactures  and  commerce  insensibly 
collects  a  large  multitude  within  the  walls  of  a  city ;  but 
these  citizens  are  no  longer  soldiers  ;  and  the  arts,  which 
adorn  and  improve  the  state  of  civil  society,  corrupt  the 
habits  of  the  military  life.  The  pastoral  manners  of  the 
Scythians  seem  to  unite  the  different  advantages  of  simpli- 


252  CHAP.  XXIX. 

city  and  refinement.  The  individuals  of  the  same  tribe  are 
constantly  assembled,  but  they  are  assembled  in  a  camp  ; 
and  the  native  spirit  of  these  dauntless  shepherds  is  animat- 
ed by  mutual  support  and  emulation.  The  houses  of  the 
Tartars  are  no  more  than  small  tents. — The  palaces  of  the 
rich  consist  of  wooden  huts,  of  such  a  size  that  they  may 
be  conveniently  fixed  on  large  waggons. — The  flocks  and 
herds,  after  grazing  all  day  in  the  adjacent  pastures,  retire, 
on  the  approach  of  night,  within  the  protection  of  the 
camp.  The  necessity  of  preventing  the  most  mischievous 
confusion,  in  such  a  perpetual  concourse  of  men  and  ani- 
mals, must  gradually  introduce,  in  the  distribution,  the 
order,  and  t  le  guard,  of  the  encampment,  the  rudiments 
of  the  military  art.  As  soon  as  the  forage  of  a  certain 
district  is  nsumed,  the  tribe,  or  rather  army,  of  shep- 
herds, makes  a  regular  march  to  some  fresh  pastures ;  and 
thus  acquires  in  the  ordinary  occupations  of  the  pastoral 
life,  the  practical  knowlege  of  one  of  the  m.ost  important 
and  difficult  operations  of  war.  The  choice  of  stations  is 
regulated  by  the  difference  of  the  seasons  :  in  the  summer, 
the  Tartars  advance  towards  the  North  : — In  the  winter 
they  return  to  the  South. — These  manners  are  admirably 
adapted  to  diffuse,  among  the  wandering  tribes,  the  spirit 
of  emigration  and  conquest.  The  connexion  between  the 
people  and  their  territory  is  of  so  frail  a  texture,  that  it 
may  be  broken  by  the  slightest  accident.  The  camp,  and 
not  the  soil,  is  the  native  country  of  the  genuine  Tartar. 
Within  the  precincts  of  that  camp,  his  family,  his  compa- 
nions, his  property  are  always  included;  and,  in  the  most 
distant  marches,  he  is  still  surrounded  by  the  objects  M'hich 
are  dear,  or  valuable,  or  familiar  in  his  eyes.  The  thirst 
of  rapine,  the  fear  or  the  resentment,  of  injury,  the  impa- 
tience of  servitude,  have,  in  every  age,  been  sufficient 
causes  to  urge  the  tribes  of  Scythia  boldly  to  advance  into 
some  unknown  countries,  where  they  might  hope  to  find  a 
more  plentiful  subsistence,  or  a  less  formidable  enemy.' 
-  The  Tartars  are  possessed  of  much  leisure,  and  this  lei- 
sure is  *  spent  in  the  violent  and  sanguinary  exercise  of  the 


CHAP.  XXIX.  253 

the  chace.  The  plains  of  Tartary  are  filled  with  a  strong 
and  serviceable  breed  of  horses,  which  are  easily  trained  for 
the  purposes  of  war  and  hunting.  The  Scythians  of  every 
age  have  been  celebrated  as  bold  and  skilful  riders. — The 
exploits  of  the  hunters  of  Scythia  are  not  confined  to  the 
destruction  of  timid  or  innoxious  beasts  ;'  and  there  is  one 
of  their  modes  of  hunting,  which  opens  the  fairest  field  to 
the  exertions  of  valor,  and  'may  justly  be  considered  as 
the  image,  and  as  the  school,  of  war.  The  general  hunt- 
ing matches,  the  pride  and  delight  of  the  Tartar  princes, 
compose  an  instructive  exercise  for  their  numerous  cavalry. 
A  circle  is  drawn,  of  many  miles  in  circumference,  to  en- 
compass the  game  of  an  extensive  district ;  and  the  troops 
that  form  the  circle  regularly  advance  towards  a  common 
centre  ;  where  the  captive  animals,  surrounded  on  every 
side,  are  abandoned  to  the  darts  of  the  hunters.  In  this 
march,  which  frequently  continues  many  days,  the  cavalry 
are  obliged  to  climb  the  hills,  or  swim  rivers,  and  to  wind 
through  the  vallies,  without  interrupting  the  prescribed  order 
of  their  gradual  progress.  They  acquire  the  habit  of  directing 
their  eye,  and  their  steps,  to  a  remote  object ;  of  preserv- 
ing their  intervals  ;  of  suspending,  or  accelerating,  their 
pace,  according  to  the  motions  of  the  troops  on  their  right 
and  left ;  and  of  watching  and  repeating  the  signals  of  their 
leaders.  Their  leaders  studv,  in  this  practical  school,  the 
most  important  lesson  of  the  military  art ;  the  prompt 
and  accurate  judgment  of  ground,  of  distance,  and  of 
time.  To  employ  against  a  human  enemy  the  same  pati- 
ence and  valor,  the  same  skill  and  discipline,  is  the  only 
alteration,  which  is  required  in  real  war ;  and  the  amuse- 
ments of  the  chace  serve  as  a  prelude  to  the  conquest  of  an 
empire.' 

As  late  as  the  year  1771,  was  a  great  transmigration  of 
Calmucks.  Three  hundred  thousand  of  them,  after  having 
remained  about  a  century  under  the  protection  of  Russia, 
near  the  banks  of  the  Volga,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Astrachan,  traversed  an  immense  extent  of  country,  and 


254  CHAP.  XXIX. 

*■  retttrned  to  their  native  seats  on  the  frontiers  of  the  Chi- 
nese empire'^^* 

Along  with  the  numerous  forces  of  Gog,  there  will,  the 
prophet  informs  us,  be  the  bands  of  Gomer'^^and  Togar- 
ii5ah'%  together  with  troops  from  Persia,  Ethiopia,  and 
Lybia^** ;  and  it  is  very  credible,  that  the  fame  of  this 
great  invasion,  the  successes  which  will  be  gained  in  the 
course  of  an  extensive  march,  and  the  expectation  of  a  par- 
ticipation in  the  spoil,  will  allure  bodies  of  troops  from  dif- 
ferent countries  to  enlist  under  the  banners  of  this  mighty 
host  of  military  plunderers^"^. 

The  prophec}'  teaches  us  to  expect,  that  the  Jews  will 
not  he  preserved  from  tl'i£  efforts  of  their  invaders,  merely 
by  their  own  valor,  or  by  that  of  any  allies  whose  assistance 
they  may  ^e  able  to  obtain ;  for  it  seems  plainly  intimated^ 
that  the  army  of  the  enemy  Avill  be  dissolved,  partly  by  the 
spread  of  some  contagious  disease,  and  partly  bv  the  pro- 
gress of  internal  discord,  and  the  prosecution  of  sangui- 
nary quarrels  among  the  hostile  squadrons.  Every  man's 
sword^  says  the  prophet,  shall  be  agaimt  his  brother.  And 
I xv'ill plead  against  him  xvith  pes'ilence  andxoith  hlood^^°. 

Of  the  invading  multitude  described  by  Ezekiel,  the  far 
greater  part,  the  prophet  assures  us,  shall  be  destroyed'^'  ; 
and  supposing  them  to  be  Tartars,  and  to  display  the  same 


125  Gibbon,  vol.  IV.  p.  342,  344,  346,  349,  3ii0,  370. 
126i '  Cimmerians  :  a  very  old  and  celebrated  people,  wlio  inhabited  the 
peninsula  of  Crim  Taitavy.'     Michaelis  in  loc.  as  (quoted  by  bp.  Newcome. 

127  According  to  B-ocluu-t,  Togarniah  is  Cappadccia. 

128  XZZVIII.  5,  6, 

129  In  the  I3tli  centm-}',  the  fame  of  the  arms  of  the  Mog-uls  excited  a 
number  of  persons  to  g-o  as  far  as  China  from  the  remote  countries  of  the 
West,  and  to  enlist  themselves  into  the  service  of  the  Tartars.  In  their 
attack  of  the  cities  in  the  Northern  empire  of  Cliina,  '  the  sleg-es,'  says 
^.Ii-.  Gibboa  (vol.  XI.  p.  415),, '  were  conducted  by  the  Maiiomctans  and 
Franks.' 

130  XXXVIII.  21,  22.  ♦  It  is  plain,'  says  bishop  Newcome,  that  the 
circumstances,  mentioned  in  these  verses,  *  remain  to  be  accomplished  on 
the  future  enemies  of  the  Jews,  when  his  people  are  tein.stated  in  God's 
favor.' 

131  XXXIX.  2.11- 


CHAP.  XX rx.  255 

eagerness  to  violate  all  the  principles  of  justice  and  huma 
nity,  as  their  countrymen  have  been  accustomed  to  disco- 
ver, they  ■will  probably  be  thought  to  deserve  their  fate. 
*  In  all  their  invasions  of  the  civilised  empires  of  the  South, 
the  Scythian  shephe^-ds,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon, '  have  been  uni- 
formly actuated  by  a  savage  and  destructive  spirit. — After 
the  Moguls  had  subdued  the  northern  provinces  of  China, 
it  was  seriously  proposed,  not  in  the  hour  of  victory  and 
passion,  but  in  calm  deliberate  council,  to  exterminate  all 
the  inhabitants  of  that  populous  country,  that  the  vacant 
land  might  be  converted  to  the  pasture  of  cattle. — The  most 
casual  provocation,  the  slightest  motive  of  caprice  or  coii- 
venience,  often  provoked  them  to  involve  a  whole  people 
in  an  indiscriminate  massacre  :  and  the  ruin  of  some  flou- 
rishing cities  was  executed  with  such  vmrelenting  perseve- 
rance, that,  according  to  their  own  expression,  horses  might 
run,  without  stumbling,  over  the  ground  where  they  had 
once  stood.  The  great  capitals  of  Khorasan,  Maru,  Nei- 
sabour,  and  Herat,  were  destroyed  by  the  armies  of  Zin- 
gis  ;  and  the  exact  account,  which  was  taken  of  the  slain, 
amounted  to  4,347,000  persons. — In  his  camp  before  Delhi, 
Timur  massacred  100,000  Indian  prisoners,  who  had  smiled 
when  the  army  of  their  countrymen  appeared  in  sight. 
The  people  of  Ispahan  supplied  70,000  human  sculls  foi 
the  structure  of  several  lofty  towers  ;'  and  '  he  erected  on 
the  ruins  of  Bagdad  a  pyramid  of  90,000  heads'^\' 

The  same  causes  and  the  same  events,  it  may  be  added, 
which  will  predispose  the  Jews  to  investigate  the  proofs  of 
the  divine  mission  of  Jesus,  and  which  will  strike  convic- 
tion into  their  minds,  will  operate  with  similar  force  upon 
the  disciples  of  infidelity. 

I  conclude  the  chapter  with  a  short  but  solemn  declara- 
tion, relative  to  the  future  happy  state  of  the  Jews,  con- 
tained in  the  Ixiid  ch.  of  Isaiah.  Speaking  of  Jerusalem, 
the  prophet  says,  Thou  shalt  no  mor£  be  termed  Forsaken^ 
neither  shall  thy  land  any  more  be  termed  Desolate.      The 

132  Vol.  VI  p.  53—56;  Vol.  XII  p,  24. 


256  .  CHAP.  XXX. 

Lord  hath  sivorn  by  his  right  hand^  and  by  the  aryn  of  his 
strength.  Surely  I -will  no  more  give  thy  corn  to  be  meat 
for  thine  enemies ;  and  the  sons  of  the  strangers  shall  not 
drink  thy  "wine^  for  the  which  thou  hast  labored ;  but  they 
that  have  gathered  it  shall  eat  it,  and  praise  the  Lord;  and 
they  that  have  brought  it  together  shall  drink  if^^. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


ON    THE    PREDICTIONS   RELATIVE    TO    THE    PERIOD,    DENOMI- 
NATED THE  Millennium. 

IN  the  preceding  chapters  it  has  been  shewn,  that  the 
destruction  of  ecclesiastical  usurpation,  of  the  antichristian 
monarchies  in  Europe,  and  of  Oriental  despotism,  is  point- 
ed out  in  the  prophetic  scriptures  ;  and,  according  to  the 
natural  order  of  things,  the  accomplishment  of  these  great 
events  may  justly  be  thought  to  have  prepared  the  way  for 
a  period  of  terrestrial  felicity,  signally  elevated  and  lasting. 
The  prospect  of  such  a  period  must  be  soothing  to  the  mind 
of  man,  when  it  returns,  fatigued  and  dispirited,  from  con- 
templating the  miseries  of  human-kind,  which  press  so 
thick  upon  each  other  in  the  page  of  history.  How  un- 
ceasingly have  their  rights  been  usurped,  and  an  ample  por- 
tion of  their  property  plundered,  to  promote  the  interests 
of  a  tyrannic  priesthood,  or  in  compliance  with  the  orders 
of  the  noble,  the  statesman,  or  the  monarch  !  How  uni- 
formly, in  every  past  period,  has  their  blood  been  shed, 
their  virtues  debased,  their  understandings  darkened,  in 
order  to  gratify  the  vices,  or  to  secure  the  power,  of  the 
privileged  orders  !  '  He,  who  the  most  dispassionately  con- 
templates so  sad  a  scene,'  to  use  the  words  of  bishop  Hurd, 
*  can  hardly  reconcile  appearances  to  what  must  have  been 

lo3  V.  4,  8,  9. 


CHAP.  XXX.  •  257 

his  natural  expectations.  Here,  then,  the  pr6phecles  of 
this  work,  I  mean,  of  the  Apocalypse,  comes  in  to  our  re- 
lief.' They  shew,  '  that  the  end  of  this  dispensation  (the 
Christian)  is  to  promote  virtue  and  happiness  ;  and  that  this 
end  shall  finally,  but  through  many  and  long  obstructions, 
be  accomplished.'  Thus  '  they  reconcile  us  to  that  disor- 
dered scene  which  hath  hitherto  been  presented  to  us  ;  and 
give  repose  to  the  anxious  mind,  in  the  assured  hope  of 
better  things  to  come'.' 

Before  I  select  from  those  passages  of  scripture,  which 
point  out  the  certain  arrival  of  a  permanent  period  of  hap- 
piness on  earth,  it  will  be  proper  to  explain  what  my  ideas 
of  a  millennium  are.  For  I  am  aware,  that,  against  the 
more  common  representations  of  it,  strong  prejudices  have 
with  justice  been  entertained.  By  the  disorderly  imagina- 
tion of  some  visionaries  it  has  been  painted  as  a  state  of 
things,  altogether  wild  and  irrational ;  and  even  many,  of 
a  sober  turn,  and  a  cultivated  judgment,  have  annexed  to 
it  much  of  the  marvellous  and  improbable.  By  the  mil- 
lennium I  mean  a  period  of  great  length,  eminently  dis- 
tinguished for  the  spread  of  knowlege  and  of  genuine 
CHRISTIANITY,  in  consequence  of  which  good  govern- 
ment will  universally  be  established,  virtue  will  not  onlv 
be  generally  esteemed  but  practised,  and  human  happiness 
will  be  carried  to  an  unexampled  height. 

The  literal  construction  of  texts  is,  I  apprehend,  the 
grand  source  of  error  on  this  subject.  Strange  is  the  length 
to  which  this  mode  of  explanation  has  been  carried  by  ver}" 
sensible  writers  ;  who,  upon  this  topic,  appear  to  have  alto- 
gether forgotten,  that  the  prophetic  scriptures  are  conspi- 
cuously characterised  by  highly  figurative  language.  The 
same  men,  who  uniformly  acknowlege  all  the  former  part 
of  the  Apocalypse  to  be  written  in  the  symbolic  style, 
when  they  come  to  the  three  last  chapters,  appear  all  at 
once  to  change  their  method  of  explication,  and  in  a  great 


1  Vol.  II.  p.20(r 
Vol.,  II.  K  k        . 


SS'S  CHAP.  XXX% 

degree  interpret  it  according  to  the  letter.  Many  of  the 
ancient  fathers,  from  carrjing  this  to  its  full  extent,  brought 
discredit,  not  only  on  themselves,  but  on  the  book  of  Reve- 
lation itself.  The  too  literal  expounding  of  passages  has, 
says  Dr.  Jortin,  '  produced  strange  and  precarious  notions- 
amongst  ancient  and  modern  Christians  concerning  the  mil- 
lennium :  thus  it  has  been  supposed,  that  Christ  shall  come 
and  reig  •  personally  upon  earth  a  thousand  years,  that  the 
old  Christian  martyrs  shall  rise  again  to  reign  with  him, 
that  the  Jews  shall  have  a  temple  rebuilt,  and  a  temple-ser- 
vice renewed^' 

As  a  proof,  however,  that  rational  ideas  on  the  nature  of 
the  millennium  have  long  been  entertained,  I  transcribe  a 
short  extract  from  Mr.  Stephens,  as  printed  nearly  140  years  • 
since.  '  For  the  nature  of  this  kingdom,  we  desire  that  we 
may  not  be  mistaken.  We  do  not  plead  for  a  personal 
reign,  nor  a  literal  resurrection  of  the  martyrs,  nor  a  con- 
fluence of  all  sensual  delights,  as  many  have  done.  That 
which  we  principally  stand  for,  is,  the  universal  subjection 
of  the  nations  to  the  laws  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  rest  of  the 
church  from  such  persecutions  as  have  been  in  all  antichris- 
tian  times^.' 

As  a  day  usually  stands  for  a  year  in  the  Apocalypse,  and 
three  years  and  a  half  for  1260:  I  think  it  an  opinion  not 
entirely  destitvite  of  plausibility,  that  the  Thousand  Years, 
spoken  of  by  St.  John,  are  prophetic  years,  and  denote  a  pe- 
riod of  360,000  common  years.  This  was  thought  probable 
by  Hartley^  and  is  the  opinion  of  Priestley^  It  is  not,  I  am 
aware,  unencumbered  with  difficulties  ;  and  is  exposed  to  a 
very  formidable  objection,  drawn  from  a  consideration  of 
the  size  of  the  globe  and  the  probable  progress  of  popula- 
tion. That  mankind  will  subsist  in  this  world  only  ten  cen- 
turies, after  the  commencement  of  the  millenniary  period, 


2  Rem.  onEccl.  Hist.  Vol.  II.  p.  424. 

3  A  Calcul.  of  the  Numb.  &c.  p.  91. 

4  On  M»n,  Vol.  11.  p.  400. 

5  See  his  Institute.'!,  Vol.  II.  p.  4,17; 


CHAP.  XXX.  259 

I  do,  however,  conceive  to  be  a  notion  as  irrational  and  un- 
founded, as  it  is  gloomy  and  dispiriting. 

To  the  reality  of  a  millennium  a  crowd  of  passages  bear 
testimony.     Of  these  a  few  shall  be  alleged. 

Daniel,  having  declared  in  the  35th  v.  of  the  iid  ch.  that 
all  the  oppressive  governments  of  the  world  shall  be  broken 
to  pieces^  says  in  the  close  of  the  same  verse,  that  the  stone, 
which  rvas  cut  out  without  hands^  becafne  a  great  mountain, 
and  filled  the  xvhole  earth,  '  that  is,'  says  Dr.  Lancaster, 
'  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  having  destroyed  the  four 
monarchies,  became  an  universal  monarchy'^.'  What  a 
lofty  idea  do  these  symbols  suggest  to  us  of  the  final  spread 
of  Christianity^ !  That,  which  at  first  was  so  narrow  in  its 
extent,  as  justly  to  be  likened  to  a  small  stone,  will  at  length 
be  worthy  of  being  compared  to  a  mighty  mountain.  This 
prophetic  vision,  says  Mr.  Mede,  '  points  out  two  states  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  The  first  to  be  while  those  times 
of  the  kingdoms  of  the  Gentiles  yet  lasted,  typified  by  a  stone 
hevjn  out  of  a  mountain  xvithout  hands,  the  monarchical 
statue  yet  standing  upon  his  feet.  The  Second  not  to  be 
until  the  utter  destruction  and  dissipation  of  the  image, 
when  the  stone  having  smote  it  upon  the  feet,  should  grow 
into  a  great  mountain,  which  shoxAd  fill  the  whole  earth. 
The  first  may  be  called,  for  distinction  sake,  regniim  lapidis, 
the  kingdom  of  the  stone;  which  is  the  state  of  Christ's 
kingdom  which  hath  hitherto  been :  the  other,  regnum 
montis,  the  kingdom  of  the  mountain  (that  is,  of  the  stone 
grown  into  a  mountain,  &c.),  which  is  the  state  of  his  king- 


6  With  the  dictates  of  reason  this  perfectly  agrees.  *  As  the  gospel 
was  plainly/«et/for  the  use  of  all  mankind,  so  nothing  can  seem  more  rea- 
sonable  and  fit,  than  lliat  sometime  or  other  it  should  be  make  kno\vn  to 
all.'     Christianity  the  Pt'fect.  of  all  Rel.  by  Tho.  Jef^ery,  p.  98. 

7  However  the  doctrine  of  the  millenninm  may  be  understood,  '  it  is 
clear,'  says  Mr.  Gray,  « that  the  prophetic  declarations  promise  the  uni- 
versal  establishment  of  Christianity,  in  purity  and  truth,  to  be  preceded 
by  the  fall  of  that  antichristlan  power,  of  which  the  character  is  ciescribed 
as  so  repugnant  and  hostile  to  the  s-pirit  of  t!ie  church.'  Gray's  Discourses, 
1793,  p.  316. 


260  CHAP.  XXX. 

dom  which  hereafter  shall  be^.'  But  the  subject,  which 
Mr.  Mede  was  handling,  he  felt  to  be  a  very  delicate  one, 
and  but  ill  calculated  to  gratify  the  ruling  powers.  In  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Hayne,  who  differed  with  him  on  the  pro- 
phecy of  Daniel,  he  accordingly  says,  '  I  am  unwilling  to 
put  all  in  xvritmg^  which  I  would  utter  in  a  private  and 
personal  discourse  ^.' 

To  the  Jews,  says  bp.  Chandler,  we  might  on  these  points 
appeal.  '  Ask  them,  what  is  meant  by  the  stone^  and  they 
answer  as  one  man,  the  Mcss'ias.  Go  to  the  image,  that 
the  stone  smote  on  the  toes,  and  they  are  as  unanimous  in 
saying,  it  is  the  Roman  empire,  which  must  be,  therefore, 
still  in  being,  according  to  their  sentiments'".' 

The  bishop,  to  authenticate  this  statement,  cites  as  wit- 
nesses, a  crowd  of  the  most  celebrated  rabbins.  To  these 
conclusions  the  words  of  Daniel  do,  indeed,  irresistibly 
lead.  In  his  explication  of  this  vision  to  Nebuchadnezzar, 
he  says,  in  v.  44  and  45,  that  the  symbolic  stone  broke  in 
pieces  the  it  an.,  the  brass  ^  the  clay  ^  the  silver^  and  the  gold; 
and  that  the  kingdom^  which  the  God  of  heaven  set  up^  shall 
never  be  destroyed.  The  restricted  sense  of  the  word  nevef 
will  be  more  conveniently  noted  in  a  future  page. 

After  observing,  that  '  the  present  kingdoms  of  Europe 
are  unquestionably  represented  by  the  feet  and  toes  of  the 
great  image,'  Dr.  Priestley  says,  *  From  Daniel's  interpre- 
tation of  this  vision  it  may  be  clearly  inferred,  that  the 
forms  of  government,  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  which  now 
subsist, in  Europe,  must  be  dissolved;  but  that  something 
very  different  from  them,  and  greatly  superior  to  them, 
more  favorable  to  the  virtue  and  happiness  of  mankind, 
will  take  place  in  their  stead.  That  this  is  the  meaning  of 
the  prophecy  can  hardly  be  doubted  l^y  any  person,  who " 
shall  give  the  least  attention  to  it".' 


8  P.  909.  9  P.  915. 

10  Def.  of  Chilstiiuilty,  p.  100. 

11  InstiUitcs,  8tc.  Vol.  II.  p.  4^6. 


CHAP.  XXX.  2(il 

But  another  prophetic  vision  of  the  same  import,  and  yet 
more  clear,  is  recorded  in  ch.  vii.  After  predicting,  in  v. 
11  and  12,  the  destruction  of  the  papal  power  and  the  op- 
pressive monarchies  of  the  world,  Daniel  immediately  adds 
in  V.  13  and  14,  Jscnv  in  the  night-visions^  and^  behold^  one 
like  the  Son  of  man  came  -with  the  clouds  of  heaven; — and 
there  was  given  him  dominion^  and  glory ^  and  a  kingdom^ 

THAT    ALL    PEOPLE,    NATIONS,     AND    LANGUAGES    SHOULD 

SERVE  HIM.  '  The  time,  in  which  this  kingdom  is  given,' 
says  Dr.  SykeS,  '  is  expressly  mentioned  to  he  after  the  death 
of  the  beast,  or  after  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  kingdom. 
And  here  it  is  observable,  that  the  kingdom  of  the  Son  of 
7nan  is  not  spoken  of  as  a  kingdom,  in  this  prophecy,  till 
MhQ  judgment  xvas  set^  i.  e.  not  till  that  glorious  state  of  it, 
when  the  stone  should  actually  become  a  ynountain^^-'.^ 

There  has  before  been  occasion  to  introduce  extracts  from 
Daubuz  and  from  bp.  Newton,  wherein  they  remark,  that 
it  is  the  custom  of  the  prophets  first  to  describe  an  event  in 
the  language  of  symbols,  and  afterwards  to  represent  it  in 
plain  and  ordinary  words.  Thus,  in  the  passage  just  cited, 
the.  first  clause  is  clothed  in  the  emblematic  language  of  the 
East;  but  the  second  is  expressed  literally,  and  is  explana- 
tory of  the  meaning  of  the  former.  Dr.  More  accordingly 
observes  in  his  prophetic  alphabet,  that  '  riding  upon  tht 
clouds  signifies — success  against  our  enemies  and  enlarge- 
ment of  power.'  In  confirmation  of  this,  I  give  the  words 
of  Achmet,  as  ap|)ealed  to  by  Dr.  More,  and  quoted  by 
Dr.  Lancaster :  this  ancient  writer  says,  that  according  to 
the  usage  of  the  Persians  and  Egyptians,  '■  a  king's  riding 
upon  the  clouds  is  Interpreted  of  foreign  nations  serving  him, 
of  his  ruling  over  them,  and  of  his  being  exceedingly  pros- 
perous and  successful^^.'  Indeed  bp.  Newton  says,  on  Mat. 
xxiv,  30,  that  *  in  the  ^nc'iQnt  prophets  God  is  frequently 
described  as  coming  in  the  clouds^  upon  any  remarkable  in- 


12  Upon  tlie  Truth  of  Chr.  p.  18.     Wliat  Mede  observes,  p.  93.),  is  in 
exact  agreement  with  this  quotation  from  Dr.  Sykes. 

13  Achmetis  Oneirocritica,  154. 


262  CHAP.  XXX. 

terposition  and  manifestation  of  his  power ;  and  the  same 
description  is  here  applied  to  Christ^*.'  To  the  same  pur- 
pose speaks  Vitringa.  '  Christ  ^is  said  to  covie  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven  in  the  style  of  scripture,  as  often  as  he  demon- 
strates his  glory  and  majesty  by  the  signal  effects  of  his 
favor,  severity,  and  power'^' 

That  a  cloud  is  a  symbol,  denoting  success,  was  before 
remarked^.  When  therefore  it  is  said  in  Daniel,  that  one 
like  the  Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven^  the  predic- 
tion appears  evidently  to  carry  wnth  it  this  import,  that,  at 
the  period  spoken  of,  the  religion  of  Jesus  will  obtain  a 
signal  triumph  over  all  its  enemies,  and  will  have  a  glorious 
prevalence.  Agreeably  to  this,  Daubuz  and  Lancaster 
conceive,  that  when  Christ  said  in  Mat.  xxiv.  30,  they  shall 
see  the  Son  of  7nan  cojning  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with 
power  and  great  glory  ;  he  superadded  these  words,  power 
and  great  glory,  as  explanatory  of  the  symbol  which  Daniel 
had  employed ;  and  it  is  after  he  had  been  discussing  at 
length  the  established  meaning  of  heaven  in  prophetic  lan- 
guage, that  the  former  of  these  writers  says,  in  this  predic- 
tion of  our  Saviour,  it  is  plain,  that  heaven  is  synonimous 
to  pQxvers  and  glory^'^.-   And  I  must  not  omit  to  observe, 


14  Vol.  II.  p  2S3.  In  Isaiah,  xix.  1.  it  is  said,  behold,  the  Lordrideth 
upon  a  swift  cloud,  and  shall  come  into  Egypt. 

15  In  Apoc.  I.  7.  See  this  observation  also  made  and  illustrated  by 
Brenius  (De  Regno  Eccl.  Glor.  cap.  5).  I  likewise  add  the  statement  of  bp. 
Newcome.  '  I  think,'  sajs  this  woi-thy  prelate  and  able  scriptural  critic, 
'  any  signal  interposition  in  belialf  of  his  church,  or  ui  the  destruction  of 
his  enemies,  may  be  metaphorically  called  a  co7?ji;:^,  or  a parousia,  oi  Chvist.* 
Observations  on  our  Lord's  Conduct  as  a  Divine  Instructor,  p.  256. 

16  See  authorities  for  this  in  vol.  I.  p.  120. 

17  P.  161.  See  this  observed  by  Waple  on  Rev.  ch.  i.  v.  7.  '  Clouda 
(if  hea'oen,  in  the  scriptui-e -phrase,  seem,'  says  Dr.  More  in  his  pi-ophetic 
alphabet,  '  to  sig-nify  power  and  great  glory.'  See.  also  Taylor's  Thoughts 
on  the  Grand  Apostacy,  p.  179,  where  he  observes,  that  'the  earning  of  Christ 
in  the  kingdom  of  God  does  by  no  means  intimate  any  kind  of  local  motion 
or  change  of  place:  but  merely  the  arrival  at  power  and  glory. — Thus  we 
say  in  English,  that  the  king  cavie  to  his  throne,  that  a  man  caine  to  his 
<-stntp,  &c.  without  the  least  idea  of  local  motion.' 


CHAP.  XXX.  263 

that  Dr.  Lightfoot,  Avho  was  so  intimately  conversant  in 
the  Jewish  phraseology,  thinks,  that  this  and  similar  pas- 
sages are  indubitably  not  to  be  interpreted  of  Christ's  actual 
advent.  By  writers  of  reputation  the  belief  of  his  personal 
reign  on  earth  is,  indeed,  very  generally  rejected'^.  This, 
however,  I  believe,  to  adopt  the  words  of  Mr.  Pyle,  that 
he  shall  reign  in  the  hearts,  and  holy  lives,  and  examples  of 
his  followers'^. 

Among  others  who  have  regarded  the  expression  In  Mat. 
xxiv.  30,  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven,  as  undoubtedly  figurative,  (I  repeat  the  names 
which  have  before  been  incidentally  mentioned,)  are  Dau- 
buz,  Lancaster,  Lightfoot,  'Vltrlnga,  Le  Clerc,  Brenius, 
Whitby,  Hammond ;  Benson,  Macknight,  Campbell,  and 
Nisbett,  together  with  bishops  Newton,  Newcome,  and 
Pearce.  The  jftrst  coming  of  Christ,  says  bp.  Hurd,  '  was 
then  over,  when  he  expired  on  the  cross.'  But  his  second, 
observes  the  prelate,  is*  of  a  dliferent  kind  and  not  to  be 
understood  of  a  personal  appearance^".  Indeed  *  the  word 
Christ,^  says  the  same  writer  In  another  place,  '  is  frequent- 
ly used  in  the  apostolic  writings  for  the  doctrine  of  Christ  j 
in  which  sense  we  are  said  to  put  on  Christ,  to  groxv  in 
Christ,  to  learn  Christ,  and  in  other  instances^'.' 

18  Among-  otliers,  it  is  rejected  in  express  terms  by  Crellius  (in  Rom. 
xi.  23),  Vitringa  (in  Apoc.  p.  848),  Bl-enius  (de  Regno  Christi),  Dr.  John 
Edwards  (Hist  of  the  Various  Dispensations  of  Religion,  vol.  II.  p.  654)', 
Pcganius  (on  the  Apoc.  p.  238),  Dr.  Thomas  Burnet  (Theory  of  the  Earth, 
vol.  II.  p.  308),  Whitby  (on  the  Millennium,  ch.  iv.),  Hurd  (vol.  I.  p. 
123),  and  Jortin  (on  Eccl.  Hist,  vol.11,  p.  424).  Mede,  speaking  of  this 
subject,  says,  '  I  dare  not  so  much  as  imagine,  that  it  sliould  be  a  visible 
converse  upon  earth  (p.  741);'  and  how  strongly  Dr.  More  condemned  the 
contrary  ophiion,  the  following  citation  from  him  will  evince.  '  The  per- 
sonal reign  of  Christ  upon  earth  and  of  his  holy  martyrs  is  a  very  rash  and 
groundless  and  unsafe  conceit.'  Myst.  of  Godliness,  p.  181.  The  pas- 
sage that  follows  is  from  Dr,  Burnet.  '  That  Christ  should  leave  that 
right-hand  of  his  Father,  to  come  and  pass  a  thousand  jcars  here  below, 
living  upon  eartli  in  an  heavenly  body  :  thi.s,  I  confess,  is  a  thing  I  never 
could  digest' 

19  On  the  Rev.  p.  8"  20  Vol.  I.  p.  123. 
21  Vol.  II.  p.  11. 


264  CHAP.    XXA> 

Is  it  not  surprising,  that  the  very  same  persons,  who 
declare,  that  the  expression,  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man 
in  the  clouds^  when  it  occurs  in  Daniel  and  the  Evangelists, 
though  acknowleged  to  be  prophetic,  is  to  be  literally  un- 
derstood ;  when  thej^  meet  with  exactly  similar  language  in 
St.  John,  universally  admit  that  it  there  carries  with  it  a 
fgurative  import  ?  When  Christ  is  represented  as  sitting 
upon  a  white  cloud  (xiv.  14),  or  described  as  sitting  upon  a 
white  horse^^  (vi.  2),  the  symbolic  texture  of  the  passages 
they  presume  not  to  deny.  But  is  not  this  to  incur  the 
charge  of  inconsistency  ?  To  undermine  such  an  interpre- 
tation, is  it  not  sufficient  to  state  the  palpable  variations,  to 
which  its  advocates  are  redticed?  The  interpretation  of 
these  symbols  St.  John  has  himself  also  supplied  (as  Daniel 
and  our  Lord  have  done  in  the  quotations  above)  ;  for  it  is 
added  respecting  Christ  in  the  verse  last  cited,  and  he  went 
forth  conquering-  and  to  conquer. 

But  althpugh  there  is  not  sufficient  reason  for  believing, 
that  Christ  will  descend  upon  earth  at  the  commencement  of 
the  millenjiium^  and  a  second  time  become  its  inhabitant, 
yet  does  the  New  Testament  contain  passages  which  de- 
cisively prove,  that  at  the  day  of  judgment  he  will  personally 
appear^^ 


22  This  prophecy,  says  Daubuz,  denotes  tlie  rapid  pi-ogress  of  the  Gos- 
pel. Anciently  a  horse  was  not  used  for  the  convenience  of  riding-,  nor 
subjected  to  the  drudgeries  of  agriculture.  He  was  employed  in  waf 
alone.  Hence  he  became  a  symbol  of  conquest.  To  evince  this.  Dr. 
Lancaster  refers  to  the  prophecies  of  scripture  and  the  oneirocrltics  of  the 
East.  White,  he  observes,  is  the  symbol  of  prosperity ;  '  and  therefore 
tjA/Ve  horses  were  used  by  conquerors  in  their  days  of  ti'iumph.  And  it 
was,  and  still  is,  the  custom  of  the  Eastern  nations  to  ride  on  white  horsps 
at  the  marz'i  age -cavalcade.  AVhite  horses  were  also  looked  upon  by  the  an- 
cients as  the  swiftest. — Tlierefore  a  ixhite  Iwrse,  in  proportion  to  tlie  ca- 
pacity and  quality  of  his  rider,  is  the  symbol  of  a  very  speedy  and  great 
advancement,  and  the  certain  prognostic  of  great  joy  and  triumph.'  On 
this  subject  Daubuz  has  furnished  us  with  a  profusion  of  evidence  (in.  p. 
258—261,  and  878). 

23  See  particularly  John,  v.  23,   29  ;  Acts  xvii.  31 ;   and  I  Thess.  v: 
16,  17. 


CHAP.  XXX.  265 

What  is  the  consequence  of  making  it  a  rule  to  interpret 
prophecy  literally  P  So  completely  does  this  method  of  ex- 
plication, when  applied  to  many  of  the  predictions  of  Scrip- 
ture, alter  their  genuine  import,  and  such  an  air  of  wildness 
and  improbability  does  it  impart  to  them,  that  it  is  likely 
materially  to  promote  the  cause  of  infidelity.  Instances  of 
this  it  would  be  easy  to  accumulate.  Were  there  not  access 
to  another  mode  of  interpretation,  the  figurative  and  sym- 
bolic, the  steadiest  and  most  confirmed  faith  would  be 
startled,  and  stand  in  suspense.  What  kind  of  plea  has 
been  advanced  for  perpetually  recurring  to  the  literal  me- 
thod of  explaining  prophecy,  the  following  extract  from  an 
author  of  this  class  Avill  shew.  The  prophecies,  says  Mr. 
Elhanan  Winchester,  that '  have  been  fulfilled  already,  have 
been  accomplished  in  their  most  plain  and  obvious  sense : 
which  may  serve  for  a  rule,  by  which  we  may,  xvithox.it  dan- 
ger of  mistake^  interpret  those  that  are  yet  to  be  accom- 
plished^*.' To  a  person,  who  has  thought  but  little  on  the 
subject,  this  proposition  sounds  not  unreasonable.  Indeed 
were  the  statement  in  the  premises  correct,  the  conclusion 
which  follows  must  be  admitted  to  be  fairly  drawn.  But, 
unfortunately,  the  preliminary  observation  is  completely  at 
variance  with  fact.  The  actual  fulfilment  of  prophecies  has 
proved,  that  many  of  them  are  literally,  and  many  of  them 
figuratively,  expressed.  The  annotators  on  the  Apocalypse, 
whatever  be  the  country  in  which  they  lived,  and  whatever 
the  sect  to  which  they  attached  themselves,  unite  in  agree- 
ing, that  a  multitude  of  its  predictions  have  had  their  com- 
plete accomplishment,  and  yet,  I  believe,  not  one  among 
them  all  has  been  literally  fulfilled. 

To  prove  that  the  coming  of  Christy  and  the  coming  of 
the  son  of  jnan  are  expressions,  which  signify  nothing  more 
than  either  the  commencement  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom, 
or  the  establishment  of  it,  I  shall  quote  Mat.  xvi,  28,  and 
Mark,  ix.  1.     Wh^t  our  Lord  said  on  a  particular  occasion 

24  Lectures  on  the  Propheci6;3, 1789.  vol-  I.  p.  il. 

Vol.  IL  l1 


266  CHAP.    XXX. 

the  first  of  these  evangelists  thus  expresses:  verily  I  say 
unto  yoii^  there  be  some  standing  here^  which  shall  not  taste 
of  death^  till  they  see  the  son  of  man  coming  in  his  kingdom. 
This  Mark  records  with  the  foUoAving  variation :  verily  I 
sail  unto  you  there  be  some  of  them  that  stand  here,  tvhich 
^hall  not  taste  of  death,  till  they  have  seen  the  kingdom  of 
God  co7ne  zvith  power.  The  meaning  is,  some  of  those  who 
now  hear  me  shall  live  to  see  the  Christian  dispensation 
established  :  the  gospel  being  widely  propagated  and  having 
a  powerful  influence.  It  could  not  mean,  that  some  should 
live  to  see  him  come  in  person,  for  that  they  had  already 
done. 

The  most  zealous  defender  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 
residence  upon  earth,  with  these  two  passages  before  him, 
cannot  but  acknowlege,  however  averse  he  may  be  to  make 
the  acknowlegement,  that  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man,  are  employed  by  the 
evangelists  as  synonimous  expressions,  and  that  the  latter 
is  used,  where  it  cannot  possibly  signify  his  personal 
advent. 

In  the  29th  v.  of  the  xxivth  ch.  of  Matthew,  it  is  said, 
the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken :  in  the  30th  it  is 
said,  they  shall  see  the  So7i  of  viari  co7)iing  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven.  To  understand  the  word  heavens  in  the  first  of 
these  contiguous  clauses  figuratively,  and  to  interpret  the 
word  heaven  in  the  second  literally,  is  obviously  unrea- 
sonable. 

But  the  strongest  objection  against  the  hypothesis  of 
Christ's  actual  advent,  and  his  reign  upon  earth,  is,  I  ap- 
prehend, not  to  be  deduced  from  the  collation  of  passages, 
nor  from  an  application  of  the  canons  of  verbal  criticism. 
It  is  drawn  from  a  consideration  of  those  moral  laws  which 
the  Deity  has  established,  and  from  the  nature  of  things. 
As  the  personal  reign  of  Jesus  would  be  a  perpetual  mira- 
cle, it  would  be  totally  opposite  to  the  general  plan  of  God's 
administration  of  the  world,  and  inconsistent  with  that  state 
of  probation  and  discipline  in  which  human-kind  are  placed. 


UHAP.    XXX.  267 

That  the  full  force  of  this  objection  may  be  discerned, 
some  observations  of  archdeacon  Paley  shall  be  transcribed. 
Were  the  proof  of  revelation  irresistible,  it  *  would  i-es- 
train  the  voluntary  powers  too  much  ;  would  not  answer 
the  purpose  of  trial  and  probation ;  would  call  for  no  exer- 
cise of  candor,  seriousness,  humility,  inquiry  ;  no  submis- 
sion of  passions,  interests,  and  prejudices,  to  moral  evidence 
and  to  probable  truth ;  no  habits  of  reflection  ;  none  of  that 
previous  desire  to  learn  and  to  obey  the  will  of  God,  which 
forms  perhaps  the  test  and  the  merit  of  the  virtuous  prin- 
ciple.— Irresistible  evidence  would  confound  all  characters 
and  all  dispositions.  Would  subvert,  rather  than  promote 
the  true  purpose  of  the  divine  councils,  which  is  not  to  pro- 
duce obedience  by  a  force  little  short  of  mechanical  con- 
straint (which  obedience  would  be  regularity  not  virtue, 
and  would  hardly  perhaps  differ  from  that  which  inanimate 
bodies  pay  to  the  laws  impressed  upon  their  nature),  but  to 
treat  moral  agents  agreeably  to  what  they  are  ;  which  is 
done,  when  light  and  motives  are  of  such  kinds,  and  are 
imparted  in  such  measures,  that  the  influence  of  them  de- 
pends upon  the  recipients  themselves".' 

There  are  two  declarations  of  our  Lord  himself,  which 
militate  so  strongly  against  the  idea,  that  the  signal  of  the 
proper  kingdom  of  Christ  will  be  his  descent  upon  earth, 
and  that  he  will  then  assume  the  character  of  a  terrestrial 
monarch,  that  they  particularly  deserve  to  be  cited.  The 
first  is  his  memorable  saying  before  Pilate,  My  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  xvorlcf^.  The  second  is  his  answer  to  the  Pha- 
risees respecting  the  nature  of  his  kingdom.  The  kingdom 
of  God  Cometh  not  -with  observation :  7ieither  shall  they  say, 
Lo^  here!  or^  lo.,  there.'  for,  behold,  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
■within  yoii^'^.  'The  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  or  Christ,' 
says  bp.  Pierce,  '  is  not  to  be  of  that  kind  as  ye  expect. 


25  Evid.  of  Christianity,  vol.  II.  p.  368,  371. 

26  John,   xviii.   36.      Our  Lord  does  not  employ  here  tJ>e  word  cuat 
but  >t«5-ft«?. 

27  Luke  xvii.  20,  21. 


iJ68  CHAP.  XXX. 

and  which  has  outward  show  and  pomp  to  make  it  observa- 
ble^^^  It  is  not  of  such  a  nature,  says  Whitby,  '  that  a 
man  may  be  able  to  say  from  the  lustre  of  its  first  appear- 
ance, Lo,  it  is  here,  or  it  is  there.' 

After  again  predicting  in  the  26th  v.  of  ch.  vii.  the 
downfal  of  the  papacy  and  antichristian  monarchies  of 
Europe,  Daniel  says  in  the  following  verse,  and  the  king- 
dom^ and  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under 
the  xvhole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the  saints 
of  the  most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  king- 
dom, and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him.  That 
Christians  are  denominated,  in  numerous  places  of  the 
New  Testament,  holy,  and  a  holy  nation,  and  saints.  Mr. 
Taylor  of  Norwich,  in  his  Key  to  the  Romans,  has  satis- 
factorily shewn*'. 

In  St.  John's  account  of  the  seventh  trumpet,  wherein 
he  announces  the  destruction  of  them  which  destroy  the 
earth,  he  says,  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  be- 
come THE  KINGDOMS  OF  OUR  LORD  AND  OF  HIS  CHRIST, 
AND  HE  SHALL  REIGN  FOR  EVER   AND    EVER  :    WOrds,    sayS 

Mr.  Lowman,  which  signify,  that  '  the  true  Christian  reli- 
gion should  triumph  over  all  opposition,  and  flourish  with 
great  success  and  prosperity  throughout  all  the  future  ages 
of  tiyne."*  To  the  kingdom  of  Christ  '  the  prophets,'  says 
Jortin,  ''with  one  voice,  have  promised  an  eternal  duration. 
Yet  St.  Paul,  in  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  says 
that  Christ's  kingdom  shall  have  an  end.  To  reconcile 
which  with  the  prophecies,  we  must  observe  that  the  ex- 
pressions, everlasting,  for  ever,  and  without  end^°,  are  used 
by  sacred,  as  well  as  profane  authors,  in  different  senses, 
according  to  the  subject  to  which  they  are  applied.  When 
therefore  it  is  said,  that  Christ  shall  reign  for  ever,  the 
meaning  seems  to  be,  that  he  shall  reign  as  long  as  the 
world  lasts  ;  when  it  is  said,  that  of  his  kingdom  there  shali 
be  no  end,  the  meaning  is,  that  it  shall  not  pass  away  like 

28  In  loc.  29  Sect.  101. 

SO  •  The    comparative    degi-ee  ctButvOiT^Tsfai  is  used   by  Plato  in  liis 
Fhfdo  and  Sympcs.^    Jortin. 


CHAP.  XXX.  269 

other  kingdoms,  and  that  there  shall  be  no  end  of  it,  till  the 
consummation  of  all  things.  Then  cometh  the  end^  says  St. 
V2i\A^^  when  Christ  shall  have  delivered  xip  the  kingdom  to 
God  even  the  Father^  ivhcn  he  shall  have  put  down  all  riUe^ 
and  all  authority  and  power  ;  for  he  must  reign  till  he  hath 
put  all  enemies  under  his  feet^'^J'  '  To  makeyor  ever  signify 
any  knoxvn^  limited^  determinate  period  of  time  is'  says  Mr. 
Hallett,  '  contrary  to  nature,  and  to  the  genius  of  all  lan- 
guages.— It  always  does,  and  always  must  signify  a  dura- 
tion that  is  unknown  and  uncertain  among  men,  such  as  the 
duration  of  the  world,  of  a  man's  life,  of  a  particular  re- 
lation between  two  persons,  &c.  Thvis,  when  the  psalmist 
says,  Christ's  throne  shall  be  established  for  ever  as  the 
raoon^  he  means  to  the  end  of  the  world,  psalm  Ixxxix. 

After  foretelling  the  destruction  of  the  antichristian  mo- 
narchies of  Europe  in  ch.  xvii  and  xix,  in  the  next  and  two 
following  chapters  St.  John  paints,  in  highly  figurative  lan- 
guage, the  state  of  the  millenniary  happiness. 

The  same  course,  (and  it  is  a  very  natural  one,  and  has, 
we  see,  been  generally  followed)  Christ  himself  also  pur- 
sues. The  destruction  of  the  oppressive  governments  of 
the  world  he  first  announces,  and,  having  done  this,  directly 
subjoins  a  promise  of  the  glorious  prevalence  of  his  reli- 
gion, which  was  then  to  take  place.  Immediately  after  the 
tribulation  of  those  days  shall  the  sun  be  darkened^  and  the 
moon  shall  not  give  her  lights  and  the  stars  shall  fall  from 
heaven^  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken.  And 
tHEN  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  .man?'' in  heaven  : 


31  1  Cor.  XV.  24,  25. 

32  Disc,  on  the  Tr.  of  the  Chr.  Rel.  2d.  ed.  p.  149. 

33  Kotes  on  Several  Texts  of  Scripture  and  Discourses,  vol.  III.  p.  420. 
In  tlie  book  of  Numbei'S  it  is  said  (x.  8),  the  sons  of  Aaron  shall  bloiu  luith 
the  trumpets,  and  they  shall  be  to  you  for  an  ordinance  for  ever.  The  following' 
explication  of  the  verse  is  Dr.  Clarke's.  ♦  For  ever,  that  is  ;  as  long-  as 
your  government  and  establishment  shall  last.'     Serm.  vol  I.  scrm.  IV". 

34  '  A  late  author  (John  Buxtorf)  hath  eased  us  of  all  our  disputes 
about  this  sign,  by  shewng  that  as  tlie  sign  of  yonas  the  prophet,  Matt.  :^i. 


UTO  ,  CHAP.    XXX. 

and  THEN  shall  all  the  tribes  cf  the  earth  7nour7i^\  and  they 
shall  see  the  Son  of  7)tan  coming  i?i  the  clouds  of  heaven  with 
poxver  and  great  glory^^.  '  We  have  no  reason  to  think,' 
says  Dr.  Campbell,  '  that  a  particular  phsenomenon  in  the 
sky  is  here  suggested.  The  striking  evidences,  which  would 
be  given  of  the  divine  presence,  and  avenging  justice,  are  a 
sufficient  justification  of  the  terms.'  Let  it  not  here  escape 
the  recollection  of  the  reader,  that  the  expressions,  the  earthy 
and  the  tribes  of  the  earth.,  are  sometimes  symbolic,  and 
signify  those,  who  having  inclinations  altogether  sordid  and 
earthly  act  in  direct  opposition  to  the  true  interests  of  Chris- 
tianity. Such  appears  to  be  the  meaning  in  this  place. 
*■  Who,'  asks  Daubuz,  '  at  the  second  coming  of  Christy 
shall  lament,  but  the  obstinate  idolaters  and  opposers  of 
Christ  ?  These,  which  shall  remain  at  that  coming,  and  per- 
sist in  their  enmity  to  Christ,  shall  be  the  subject  of  his 
judgment  and  vengeance  ;  and  shall  therefore  have  occasion 
to  lament ;  but  others  shall  have  no  such  reason.  So  that 
the  tribes  of  the  earth  include  none  but  Christ's  enemieSj^.' 


"9,  is  the  sig-n  which  is  Jonas  the  prophet ;  so  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man 
inquii'ed  after.  Mat.  xxiv.  3,  is  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven. 
And  this  interpretation  is  confirmed  from  tlie  parallel  places,  Mark  xiii. 
26.  Luke.  xxi.  27.'  By  Gerard  Vossius  (^Theses  Theol.  1658,  p.  228.),  by 
Wolfius,  aiid  a  crowd  of  other  writers  that  might  be  alleged,  this  explica- 
tion of  the  phrase  has  been  noted  and  adopted. 

35  Ilxa-xi  cti  (pvXxt  Ti>5  y???,  i.  e.  all  tiie  different  classes  of  untichris- 
tian  persons. 

36  Mat.  xxiv.  29,  30. 

Z7  Verse  7  of  ch.  i.  of  the  ApocaljT>.se  is  the  parallel  passage,  upon 
which  this  learned  writer  comments.  It  is  there  said,  that  thev  iv ho  pierced 
him  shall  see  him  coming  vcith  clouds,  i.  e.  the  nation  who  crucified  him, 
the  Jews  who  shall  happen  to  be  living  at  the  commencement  of  the  mil- 
lennium, shall  no  longer  be  blind  to  the  truth  and  evidences  of  the  gospel, 
but  shall  be  converted,  and  shall  see  it  pi  oducing  the  most  powerful  ef- 
fects. Of  them  also  it  may,  in  one  sense,  be  said,  tliat  they  shall  inourn  .• 
for  on  their  former  infidelity  they  will  look  back  with  sorrow ;  and  shame  ; 
and  will  lament,  tliat  it  was  by  their  ancestors  and  by  their  nation,  that  the 
holy  Jesus  was  despised,  and  persecuted,  and  at  length  stretched  upon  the 
cross.  Acci>rdingly  om-  Lord's  words,  that  the  tribes  of  the  earth  shall 
mourn,  if  regai-ded  not  as  symbolic,  but  as  literal,  nuist  in  this  manner  be 
exclusively  applied,  as  they  formerly  have  been,  to  the  Jews. 


CHAP.  XXX.  2TI 

Our  Lord  immediately  added  in  the  words  that  follow, 
as  recorded  by  Mark,  and  then  shall  he  send  his  angels^^^ 
and  shall  gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four  xvinds^from 
the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth  to  the  iittermost  part  of  hea- 
ven^^.*  Bp.  Nevnon,  when  commenting  on  the  correspond- 
ing verse  in  Matthew,  says,  '  this  is  all  in  the  style  and 
phraseology  of  the  prophets,  and  stript  of  its  figures  mean- 
eth  only,  that — Christ  by  his  angels  or  ministers  will  ga- 
ther to  himself  a  glorious  church  out  of  all  the  nations  un- 
der heaven**".'  That  the  belief  of  Christianity  will  at  length 
penetrate  to  every  corner  of  the  globe,  does,  indeed,  ap- 
pear to  be  the  signification  of  the  passage  ;  and,  in  confor- 
mity with  this  interpretation,  the  prelate  from  whom  I  have 
just  quoted  remarks,  that  '  the  elect  is  a  well  kno^m  ap- 
pellation in  scripture  and  antiquity  for  the  Christians*'.' 

Should  the  writer  of  the  present  work  be  charged  with 
having  quoted  some  parts  of  the  prophecy  of  Jesus  with  a 
tiresome  frequency  ;  besides  observing,  that  in  no  instance 
has  he  needlessly  recurred  to  it,  he  replies,  that  this  repe- 
tition has  been  admitted,  because  our  Lord's  words  merit 
more  than  ordinary  regard,  because  he  was  solicitous  that 
their  genuine  meaning  jftight  be  closely  scrutinised,  and  be- 
cause no  one   writer  has  hitherto,   in  an  explicit  manner, 

38  The  original  would  have  been  better  translated  by  the  word  -messen- 
gers, as  it  is  in  the  versions  of  Wakefield  and  Doddridge. 

39  Markxiii.  27. 

40  Vol.  II.  p.  284.  '  By  the  angels  in  this  clause  are  to  be  understood 
the  ministers  of  the  gospel  Agreeably  to  this  interpretation  we  find  the 
name  ayytAo?,  angel,  g'iven  to  common  messengers,  James  ii.  25,  and 
to  the  ministers  of  the  Asian  churches.  Rev.  ii.  and  to  prophets,  II. 
Chron,  xxxvi.  16,  and  to  priests,  Mal.ii.  7.'     Macknight  in  loc. 

41  Vol.  II.  p.  254.  See  the  same  observation  made  by  archbishop  Til- 
lotson,  ser.  239.  At  first  the  title  was  peculiar  to  the  Jews.  After  a 
copious  allegation  of  instances.  Dr.  Whitby  says,  '  thus  have  I  traced  this 
phrase  throughout  the  whole  Old  Testament,  and  shewed,  that  it  belongs 
not  to  particular  persons,  but  to  the  whole  Jewish  church  and  people  in 
general ;  to  the  bad  as  well  as  to  the  good.'  And,  '  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, all  Christians,  called  to  the  knowlege  and  belief  of  the  faith,  are 
styled  the  elect.'  vol.  i.  p.  328,  and  vol.  ii,  p.  709.  He  proves,  that  it 
had  also,  in  the  Fatliers,  a  similar  acceptation. 


272  CHAP.  xxx» 

drawn  from  them  all  those  unportant  conclusions,  which  are 
deducible  from  a  minute  and  careful  investigation  of  them. 
As  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  actual  advent  upon  earth,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  millennium,  has  recently  received 
the  sanction  of  a  celebrated  name,  this  point  also  he  has 
been  prompted  to  consider  at  greater  length,  than  might 
otherwise  perhaps  have  been  necessary. 

Dr.  Priestley,  in  one  of  the  most  recent  of  his  sermons, 
declared  himself  decidedly  an  advocate  for  it,  as  well  as  for 
the  opinion,  that  the  martyrs  will  at  that  period  be  literally 
raised  from  the  dead.  The  following  are  two  of  the  rea- 
sons he  has  alleged  to  prove  Christ's  personal  appearance. 
*  That  the  great  antichristian  power  is  to  be  destroyed  at 
this  second  coming  of  Christ,  and  not  properly  before,  and 
therefore  that  its  final  destruction  will  be  sudden,  is  evident 
from  what  St.  Paul  says,  2  Thess.  ii.  8,  T/ien  shall  that 
wicked  one  be  revealed,  -whom  the  Lord  shall  consume  xvith 
the  spirit  of  his  viouth,  and  shall  destroy  zuith  the  brig-ht- 
ness  of  his  coming^'^.  So  far  from  regarding  this  as  evi- 
dent, I  should,  I  confess,  apprehend,  that  the  apostle's  ex- 
pressions lead  to  an  almost  opposite  conclusion  ;  and  should 
conceive  them  probably  to  denote,  that  the  dawn  of  light 
and  knowledge  would  grow  brighter  and  brighter,  and  that 
the  niillennium,  or  proper  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  would 
be  gradual  in  its  advances.  '  That  this  will  be  a  proper 
kingdo}?i,  though  a  kingdom  of  righteousness,  the  object  of 
which  will  be  the  happiness  of  the  subjects  of  it,  is,'  says 
Dr.  Priestley,  '  farther  evident  from  the  other  kingdoms 
which  are  to  be  overthrown  in  order  to  make  way  for  it. 
For  had  it  been  that  purely  spiritual  kingdom,  which  some 
suppose,  what  occasion  was  there  for  the  destruction  of  the 
other  kingdoms  ;  since  they  would  not  have  interfered  with 
it,  but  might  have  subsisted  at  the  same  time«  ?'  To  my 
mind  there  does  not  appear  here  a  shadow  of  difficulty  ;  and 


42  Fast-Serm.  for  Feb.  28,  1794,  p.  9. 
4.3  Ut  supra,  p.  4, 


caAP.  XXX,  5;r3 

I  should  feel  no  hesitation  in  replying,  that,  without  the 
supposition  of  Christ  assuming  a  regal  character  upon 
earth,  there  xuas  abundant  occasion  for  the  destruction  of 
the  existing  governments  of  the  European  continent,  and 
that  they  would  not  only  interfere,  but  would  be  absolutely 
incompatible  w^ith  the  establishment  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
The  principles  of  profligacy  and  virtue  can  never  form  an 
harmonious  mixture  :  joint  dominion  can  never  be  posses- 
sed by  tyranny  and  freedom :  one  and  the  same  space  can 
never  be  occupied  by  light  and  darkness. 

That  the  prophecies  on  this  subject  were  once  viewed  by 
this  eminent  writer  in  a  different  light,  the  following  citation 
from  his  Institutes  will  prove.  '  Some  have  supposed  that 
Christ  himself  Avill  reign  in  person  upon  earth,  and  that  the 
martyrs  will  actually  rise  from  the  dead,  and  live  with  him, 
but,  considering  the  figurative  language  of  prophecy,  it  is 
more  probable,  that  the  revival  of  the  cause  for  which  they 
suffered  is,  in  reality,  the  thing  denoted  by  it.  Besides,  it 
is  contrary  to  the  clear  sense  of  many  passages  of  scripture, 
that  any  persons,  however  distinguished  by  their  virtues  or 
sufferings,  should  receive  their  reward  before  the  great  day 
of  judgment,  after  the  general  resurrection.  Dr.  Whitby 
has  also  advanced  other  very  sufficient  arguments  against 
the  literal  interpretation  of  the  millennium''*.'  And  Dr. 
Priestley  elsewhere  observes  (and  the  observation  is  very 
important),  that  '  the  utter  destruction  of  Antichrist — is 
often  denominated  in  the  scriptures  by  the  cojning  cj 
Christ*5.' 

The  very  brief  remarks  which  have  just  been  made  in 
answer  to  the  last  of  Dr.  Priestley's  arguments  remind  me 
of  an  objection,  which  may  possibly  have  occured,  during 
the  perusal  of  the  present  chapter,  to  the  mind  of  the  at- 
tentive reader.  It  is  true,  it  may  be  saidj  we  have  seen 
the  monarchy  of  France  actually  overturned.  But  how 
does  it  appear,  in  point  of  fact,  that  the  symbolic  stone  de- 


44  Vol.  11.  p.  416.  45  Vol.  IT.  p.  41" 

Vol.  II.  M  ni 


274  ~         CHAP.  XXX. 

scribtd  in  the  iid.  ch.  of  Daniel,  which  was  cut  out  xvithout 
hands^  is  likely  to  produce  any  considerable  effect  in  smiting 
the  monarchical  image^  and  in  breaking  into  pieces  the  toes 
of  the  feet  of  that  image  ?  On  the  contrary,  is  it  not  ap- 
parent, that  the  causes,  which  Avill  give  birth  to  this  great 
catastrophe,  will  arise  entirely  from  a  different  source  ;  and 
is  there  not  reason  to  conclude,  ■  that  Christianity  has  been 
scarcely  at  all  injurious,  and  is  not  likely  to  be  hereafter 
injurious,  to  the  tyrannical  monarchies  of  the  European 
world  ?  As  the  objection  does  not  appear  destitute  of 
weight,  and  has,  I  believe,  never  been  answered,  it  shall 
be  considered  at  considerable  length. 

That  the  emblem  of  the  symbolic  stone  has  been  gene- 
rally viewed  in  too  narrow  a  light,  is  the  observation  with 
which  I  commence.  Christianity  is  a  religion,  which  treats 
all  men  as  on  a  footing  of  equality ;  which  ele  vates  them 
into  candidates  of  the  same  crown  of  immortality ;  which 
breathes  a  spirit  of  mildness  and  of  mercy ;  which  at  once 
teaches,  inspires,  and  exemplifies  benevo  lence.  The  sym- 
bolic stone,  then,  signifies  not  merely  the  peculiar  doctrines, 
but  likewise  the  great  principles,  of  Christianity  j  the  im- 
mortal principles  of  benevolence"**,  justice,  and  equality. 
And  let  it  be  remembered,  that  this  part  of  the  prophecy 
is  only  beginning  to  be  accomplished.  The  several  toes  of 
the  monarchical  statue  are  still  nearly  entire  in  point  of  num- 
ber, though  somewhat  shattered  in  point  of  strength.  That 
we  should  be  able,  at  present,  to  offer  a  completely  satis- 
factory explication  of  the  whole  of  Daniel's  prophecy,  is, 
therefore,  far  from  being  reasonable  to  expect. 

If,  however,  it  be  true,  that,  independently  of  the  pre- 
dictions contained  in  the  sacred  writings,  the  New  Testa- 
ment does  abound  with  precepts,  which  are  likely  eminently 
to  contribute  to  the  humbling  of  the  proud  and  the  deli- 
vtrance  of  the  oppressed,  to  the  overthrow  of  all  usurped 
power,  to  the  establishment  of  mild  and  equitable  laws,  and 


46  By  this  ihall  vien  know,  that  ye  are  my  dUciples,  if  you  have  love  one 
to  another,  John,  xiii.  35. 


CHAP.  XXX.  275 

to  the  general  prevalence  of  correct  ideas  on  the  great  ques- 
tion of  justice  between  man  and  man  ;  it  surely  is  no  very 
improbable  supposition,  (now  that  the  spirit  of  political  in- 
quiry has  arisen  in  Europe,  and  the  minds  of  men  are  turned 
with  so  much  eagerness  to  the  examination  of  the  nature, 
and  the  comparative  advantages,  of  different  governments,) 
that  the  time  is  not  far  distant,  when  genuine  Christians 
will  in  general  view  the  existing  governments  of  the  Euro- 
pean continent  as  decidedly  antichristian  ;  and  when  many 
of  them  will  take  an  active  part  in  substituting  in  their  place 
political  institutions,  which  do  not  violate  the  rights  of  man 
and  the  laws  of  the  gospel.  That  the  decided  majority  of 
a  nation  have  a  right  to  pull  down  an  old  government,  and 
erect  a  new  one,  if  they  think  it  expedient,  I  conceive  to 
be  a  point  admitting  not  of  dispute. 

Of  the  abuses  that  exist  in  the  world  a  large  part  arise 
from  the  tyranny  of  the  rich  over  the  poor,  and  from  the 
extreme  inequality  of  conditions,  an  evil  which  is  aggravat- 
ed, and,  indeed,  engendered,  by  the  maxims  and  constitu- 
tions of  the  existing  governments.  Now  Jesus,  it  may  be 
remarked,  selected  his  friends  and  disciples  from  among 
the  poor,  interested  himself  with  the  warmest  solicitude  in 
their  behalf,  connected  his  religion  with  their  interests  and 
the  preservation  of  their  rights,  pointed  frequently  to  the 
mischiefs  which  almost  necessarily  result  from  the  possession 
of  great  wealth,  and  spoke,  in  language  unusually  strong 
and  little  limited  in  its  application,  against  the  vices  and 
the  conduct  of  the  rich. 

Jesus,  says  the  present  bishop  of  Worcester,  first  and 
principally  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  poor.  '  Our  Lord's 
whole  ministry  seems  uniformly  directed  to  this  end  of 
beating  down  the  insolence  of  all  worldly  distinctions, 
which  hvad  too  much  vilified  and  degraded  human  nature.' 
In  truth,  '  he  seems  studiously  to  have  bent  his  whole  en- 
deavors, to  vindicate  the  honor  of  depressed  humanity*^' 


47  3p.  H.n-d's  Sei-m.  preached  at   Llucobi's  Inn.  vol.  III.  p.  153,  154. 


^76  CHAP.  XXX. 

Hostile   to  all  claims  of  huir.an  authorit}^  in  matters  of 
conscience  and   of  opinion,  Christianity  is  on  that  account 
favorable  to  libertv  and  to  knowlege,  and  is  of  course  ad- 
verse to  the  ecclesiastial  part  of  the  modern  governments**. 
An  author  of  more  than  usual  merit,  after  declaring  that 
war  is  '  a  state   in   -which  it  becomes   our  business  to  hurt 
and  annoy  our  neighbor  by  every  possible  means  ;  instead 
of    cultivating,    to   destroy ;    instead   of  building,  to  pull 
down ;  instead  of  peopling,  to  depopulate  ;  a  state  in  which 
we  drink  the  tears,  and  feed  upon  the  misery,  of  our  fel- 
loAV-creatures  ;'  briefly  comments  on  the  methods,  by  which 
the  European  governments   have  contrived  to  associate  it 
with  the  religion  of  Jesus.     Their  prayers,  says  this  inge- 
nious writer,  '  if  put  into  plain  language,  would  run  thus  : 
God  of  love,  father  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth,  we  are 
going  to  tear  in  pieces  our  brethren  of  mankind,  but  our 
strength  is  not  equal  to  our  fury,  we  beseech  thee  to  assist 
us  in  the  work  of  slaughter.     Go  out,  we  pray   thee,  with 
our  fleets  and  armies  ;  we  call  them  Christian,  and  we  have 
interwoven  in  our  banners,  and  the  decorations  of  our  arms, 
the  symbols  of  a  suffering  religion,  that  we  may  fight  under 
the  cross    upon  which   our  Saviour  died.     Whatever  mis- 
chief we   do,   we  shall  do  it  in  thy  name  ;  we  hope,  there- 
fore, thou  wilt  protect  us  in  it.     Thou,  who  hast  made  of 
one  blood  all  the  dwellers  upon  the  earth,  we  trust  thou  wilt 
view  us  alone  with  partial   favor,    and  enable  us  to  bring 
misery  upon  every  other  quarter  of  the  globe*^'     Whether 
supplications,  which  have  ideas  similar  to  these  for  their 
genuine   import,  and  which    the  members  of  the  different 
hierarchies  are  so  often  compelled  to  utter,  are,  or  are  not 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  benign  spirit  and  the  pacific  pre- 
cepts of  the  gospel,  are  questions  which  its  most  unlettered 
reader  can  fell  no  embarrassment  in  answering. 


48  See  the    quotations    which  occur  in  vol.  1.  p.  207,  208,    212 — 215, 
and  224 — 226,  of  the  present  work. 

49  Sins  of  Government,  Sins  of  the  Nation  ;  or  a  nLscoursc  for  the  Fast, 
appointed  on  April  19,  1795,  by  a  Volunteer,  p.  26,  31 


CHAP.  XXX.  277 

Of  the  regular  governments  of  Europe  war  is  one  of  the 
most  favorite  practices.  But  'that  the  general  tendency  of 
the  gospel  is  to  extinguish  the  spirit  of  contention  need 
not,'  says  a  learned  prelate,  '  be  proved  ;  its  ancient  adver- 
saries were  so  sensible  of  this,  that  they  turned,  what  should 
have  been  its  commendation,  into  a  matter  of  reproach,  and 
reprobated  it,  because  it  gave  many  precepts  to  avoid  the 
commission  of  injuries,  and  injunctions  to  forgive  them, 
but  none  to  avenge  them. — Christianity,  in  its  regards,  steps 
beyond  the  narrow  bounds  of  national  advantage  in  quest  of 
universal  good  ;  it  does  not  encourage  particular  patriotism 
in  opposition  to  general  benignity.'  Indeed  '  were  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  converted  to  the  Christian  religion,  and 
the  individuals  of  those  nations  not  nominal  merely  but  real 
Christians,  it  would  be  utterly  impossible  for  a  state  of  war 
ever  to  have  a  beginning  among  them^°.' 

An  ingenious  defender  of  the  Christian  religion,  happen- 
.  ing  to  have  been  a  Lord  of  Trade,  and  a  member  of  the 
British  senate,  does,  naturally  enough,  entertain  views  on 
the  subject  of  government,  which  are  dark  and  distorted. 
Plainly  perceiving,  that,  as  at  present  conducted,  it  is 
completely  at  variance  with  the  precepts  of  the  gospel,  he 
has  fallen  into  the  error  of  supposing,  that  these  precepts  are 
inconsistent  with  all  government.  '  Government,'  says  he, 
'  cannot  be  managed  without  certain  degrees  of  violence, 
corruption,  and  imposition  ;  yet  are  all  these  strictly  forbid. 
Nations  cannot  subsist  without  wars,  nor  war  be  carried  on 
without  rapine,  desolation,  and  murdeV  ;  yet  are  these  pro- 
hibited  under  the  severest  threats^'.' 

The  influence  of  Christianity,  Avith  respect  to  the  over- 
throw of  the  antichristian  monarchies,  may  be  placed  also 
in  another  point  of  view.  Though  the  religion  of  Jesus  is 
far  from  possessing  that  powerful  efficacy,  which  it  may  be 
expected  hereafter  to  exert  in  more  favorable  circumstances  ; 
yet  it  cannot  be  doubted  by  any  man,  acquainted  with  hu- 


.50  Bp.  Watson's  Sermons  and  Tracts,  1788,  p.  109,  111,  113. 
.il  View  of  the  Intern.  Evid.  of  tlie  Cla-.  Rcl.  p.  Jo4. 


'■27H  o«AP.  XXX. 

man  nature  and  with  history,  that  its  effects  are  great  and 
invaluable.  Now  I  maintain,  that  Christianity,  by  having^ 
made  a  large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Europe  eithtr 
partially  or  in  the  main  virtuous,  has  on  that  account  pow- 
erfully disposed  them  to  entertain  sentiments  hostile  to  those 
oppressive  systems  of  government  which  at  present  subsist ; 
and,  when  a  proper  occasion  calls  for  their  assistance,  and 
the  great  interests  of  mankind  are  at  stake,  to  exercise  that 
degree  of  activity,  and  personally  to  encounter  those  dan- 
gers, which  cannot  but  be  attendant  on  the  establishment  of 
a  new  order  of  things.  He  who  is  acquainted  with  the  de- 
plorable state  of  morals  in  the  heathen  world,  at  the  sera  of 
Christ's  appearance,  and  with  the  imbecility  of  the  efforts 
whi;.h  philosophy  had  employed  to  check  the  growth  of 
vice,  cannot,  I  think,  but  suspect,  that,  had  that  religion 
never  been  revealed,  there  would  not  have  been  a  sufficient 
portion  of  virtue,  disinterestedness,  and  public  spirit  now 
existing  among  mankind,  to  accomplish  those  important 
changes  in  the  political  world,  of  w^hich  reason  and  scrip- 
ture authorise  us  to  cherish  such  pleasing  hopes.  On  this 
subject  I  cannot  transcribe  any  passage  more  in  unison  with 
my  ideas,  than  the  following  sentiments  of  one  of  the  most 
elevated  members  of  the  English  hierarchy.  '  True  Chris- 
tianity will  produce  true  patriotism  and  public  spirit.  By 
its  commanding  influence  over  the  soul,  it  will  keep  under, 
and  bring  into  subjection,  all  those  irregular  passions  which 
render  men  rapacious,  sordid,  selfish,  and  corrupt,  indiffe- 
rent and  inattentive  to  the  public,  devoted  solely  to  the  pur- 
suit of  some  favorite  object,  or  the  gratification  of  some 
implacable  resentment,  to  which  they  are  at  any  time  ready 
to  prostitute  their  consciences,  and  sacrifice  the  true  interest 
of  their  country.  From  all  these  vile  impediments  to  the 
discharge  of  our  duty,  Christianity  sets  us  free,  and  substi- 
tutes in  their  room  the  noblest  and  most  generous  senti- 
ments. It  gives  that  dignity  and  elevation  of  soul,  which 
is  superior  to  every  undue  influence,  either  of  popularity  or 
of  power.  It  lays  down,  as  the  foundation  of  all  disinte- 
rested conduct,  that  great  evangelicid  virtue,  self-denial : 


CHAP.  XXX.  279 

it  teaches  us  to  deny,  to  renounce  ourselves  ;  to  throw  en- 
tirely out  of  our  thoughts,  our  own  prejudices,  interests, 
and  passions  ;  and,  in  every  public  question,  to  see  nothing, 
to  regard  nothing,  but  the  real  welfare  of  our  country. — It 
extends  our  prospect  beyond  the  present  scene  of  things, 
and  sets  before  us  the  recompences  of  a  future  life  ;  which, 
as  they  make  us  richer^  enable  us  to  be  more  g-efierous,  than 
other  men.  They  whose  views  are  wholly  centured  in  this 
world  will  too  often  prefer  the  emoluments  of  it  to  every 
other  consideration :  but  they,  who  look  towards  an  inhe- 
ritance in  another  state  of  existence,  can  afford  to  give  up 
to  the  general  welfare,  a  few  advantages  in  this^\' 

From  the  regular  practice  of  Christianity  courage  also 
will  be  likely  to  result.  '  A  consciousness  of  having  dis- 
charged our  duty,  of  being  at  peace  with  God,  and  of  liv- 
ing under  Iws  gracious  superintendence,  will  give  us  a  spirit, 
a  firmness,  and  intrepidity  of  soul,  which  nothing  else  can 
inspire.  Supposing  all  other  circumstances  equal,  the  sin- 
cere Christian  will  have  many  incitements  to  face  danger 
with  a  steady  countenance,  which  the  irreligious  cannot 
have.  Under  the  defence  of  the  Most  High,  he  has  less 
cause  to  fear  the  worst,  and  more  reason  to  hope  the  best, 
than  those  that  live  without  God  in  the  world.  The  wicked^ 
therefore,  Jlee  xvhen  no  man  ptirsueth^  but  the  righteous  are 
bold  as  a  lion".    Even  death  itself  has,  to  the  real  Christian, 

no  terrors Instead  of  being  to  him,  as  it  is  to  the  vrordly 

man,  the  extinction  of  his  hopes,  it  is  the  consummation  of 

52  The  following'  is  llie  staieiner.t  of  another  wTiter,  the  ingenious  Dr. 
Duchal.  '  The  selfish  spirit  of  this  world  stands  in  direct  opposition  to 
charity ;  as  the  one  prevails,  the  other  must  five  way.  He  tliat  thinks 
and  acts  as  if  he  were  made  only  for  himself:  as  if  he  were  alone  in  the 
midst  of  the  earth ;  as  if  he  were  to  take  care  of  nothing  but  his  own  in- 
terest, and  regard  his  neighbors  no  otherwise  than  as  they  may  be  the 
means  of  promoting'  it ;  who  thus  acLs  as  if  he  had  n.j  principle  but  self- 
love  in  him,  and  therefore  as  to  his  moral  frame  is  really  monstrous  ;  such 
an  one,  I  say,  must  be  an  utter  stranger,  as  to  true  charity,  so  to  the  Chris- 
tian spii'it.'  Christianity,  indeed,  '  strikes  at  the  very  root  of  this  temper.' 
Dr.  Duchal's  Sermons,  vol.  I.  p.  96. 

53  Prov.  XXVIII.  1. 


280  CHAP.  XXX, 

them,  and  puts  him  in  possession  oi  those  heavenly  trea- 
sures on  which  his  heart  is  fixed.  He,  therefore,  goes  on 
with  cool  undaunted  composure  to  the  discharge  of  his  duty, 
Avhatever  difficulties,  whatever  dangers  may  stand  in  his 
way ;  conscious  that  he  is  acting  under  the  eye  of  an  Al- 
mighty Being,  who  can  both  protect  and  reward  him  ;  who 
has  commanded  him,  if  it  be  necessary,  to  lay  dorvn  his  life 
for  his  brethren^*;  and  who  will  never  suffer  him  to  be  a 
loser  in  the  end,  even  by  that  last  and  greatest  sacrifice  to 
the  public  good".' 

Thus  then  it  appears  from  the  testimony  of  a  prelate  who 
stands  high  in  royal  favor,  that  Christianity,  by  implanting 
in  the  bosoms  of  its  genuine  followers  disinterestedness  and 
courage,  eminently  qualifies  them  for  taking  an  active  and 
zealous  part  in  the  subversion  of  every  profligate  govern- 
ment, and  in  the  erection  of  a  new  and  more  benevolent 
system.  Nor  let  it  be  supposed,  that  the  precepts  of  Jesus, 
which  enjoin  the  practice  of  patience  and  the  forgiveness  of 
injuries,  prohibit  our  resistance  to  the  tyranny  of  princes. 
On  this  point  another  of  our  prelates,  who  is  also  distin- 
guished by  the  smiles  of  royalty  and  an  aversion  to  French 
principles,  may  safely  be  listened  to.  '  The  use  of  the  na- 
tural passion  of  resentment  is  not,'  says  the  bishop  of  Wor- 
cester, '  superseded  by  the  law  of  Jesus.  For  the  legitimate 
use  of  this  passion  is  to  quicken  us  in  repelling  such  inju- 
ries, as  would  render  human  life  wholly  burthensome  and 
uneasy  to  us,  not  of  those  petty  affronts  and  discourtesies, 
which  afflict  us  much  less  by  being  dissembled  and  forgiven, 
than  by  being  resented  and  returned.  Now  Christianity 
does  not-  require  us  to  renounce  the  right  of  nature  in  re- 
pelling injuries  of  the  former  class.  The  law  in  question, 
as  explained  by  our  Lord  himself,  does  not,  we  have  seen, 
import  thus  much :  and  for  the  rest  the  appeal  is  open  to 
the  principles  of  nature  and  common  sense. — The  practice 
of  the  apostles  (the  best  comment  on  the  law)  shews,  too, 
that,  on  certain  critical  and  urgent  occasions,  they  scrupled 

54  ]   John  in.  16.  55  Bp.  Porteus's  Serm.  p.  261,  265. 


CHAP.  XXX.  281 

not  to  take  advantage  of  those  principles.  So  that  univer- 
sally, as  it  would  seem,  where  the  ends  of  self-preservation, 
or  of  prepollent  public  utility,  require  and  justify  resistance 
in  other  men,  there  it  is  left  free  for  Christians,  likewise  to 
resist  evil ;  the  purpose  of  their  divine  legislator  being,  in 
this  instance,  to  explain  the  law  of  nature,  and  to  guard  it 
from  the  abuse  of  our  hasty  passions,  not  to  abrogate,  or 
suspend  it.'  The  gospel  'allows  men  to  assert  their  essen- 
tial civil  interests  by  every  reasonable  exertion  of  firmness 
and  courage  ;  nay,  inculcates  those  principles  of  a  disin- 
terested love  for  mankind,  and  what  is  properly  called  a 
public  spirit,  which  make  it  their  duty  to  do  so.  And  they 
will  not  do  it  with  the  less  effect,  for  waiting  till  the  provo- 
cation given  appear  to  all  men  to  be  without  excuse.  The 
fury  of  a  patient  man  is  almost  proverbial :  and,  particularly, 
in  this  case,  it  is  to  be  expected,  that,  when  the  natural  in- 
citement to  resistance,  long  repressed  and  moderated,  comes 
at  length  to  be  authorised  by  necessity,  and  quickened  by 
a  sense  of  duty,  it  will  act  with  a  force  and  constancy,  not 
a  little  formidable  to  those,  against  whom  it  is  directed. 
There  is  no  danger,  then,  that  true  patriotism  should  suifer 
by  the  meek  principles  of  peace^^' 

The  following  is  the  statement  of  an  enlightened  man, 
who  was  himself  alike  distinguished  by  a  spirit  of  piety 
and  a  spirit  of  patriotism.  *•  In  vain  shall  we  expect  to  meet 
with  an  heart,  truly  animated  with  zeal  for  its  country's 
cause,  in  a  breast  which  is  destitute  of  piety  to  God.  Let 
history  unfold  her  instructive  page  j  her  records  will  esta- 
blish the  truth  of  this  great,  this  important  maxim,  that 
there  is  no  reliance  upon  that  steady  persevering  virtue, 
which  true  patriotism  requires,  where  the  principles  of  re- 
ligion and  of  public  spirit  are  not  inseparably  united. — The 
beneficial  efficacy  of  religion,  in  controlling  that  selfish 
principle,  to  which  all  the  disorders  of  human  life  ai;e  to  be 
referred,  is  so  apparent,  that  the  worst  of  men  have   fre- 

56  Kurd's  Seiin.  preached  at  Lincoln's  Inn,  vol.  III.  p.  288,  3*^3. 
Vol.  IJ.  ^  no 


282  CHAP.    XXX. 

quently  been  induced  to  assume  the  appearance  of  it,  though 
their  hearts  are  strangers  to  its  real  power  and  practice".' 

In  order  to  estimate,  to  xvhat  extent^  Christianity  will  be 
serviceable  to  the  cause  of  civil  liberty,  on  any  important 
crisis,  by  predisposing  men  to  stand  forward  in  the  rank  of 
its  defenders,  and  enabling  them  worthily  to  support  the 
character,  there  are  some  other  circumstances,  to  which  it 
will  be  necessary  briefly  to  advert.  Let  it  be  remembered, 
that,  in  the  present  state  of  the  European  governments, 
now  that  thev  are  arrived  at  an  unexampled  pitch  of  corrup- 
tion, when  they  are  guarded  by  an  immense  number  of  in- 
terested supporters,  who  are  so  powerful  from  their  wealth, 
their  functions,  and  the  multitude  of  their  dependants  ;  a 
more  thgn  ordinary  proportion  of  virtue  and  of  firmness 
seems  requisite  in  the  community,  in  order  to  efl^ect  a  reform 
of  abuses  and  to  accomplish  a  change  in  the  system.  In 
some  countries,  the  struggle  is  likely  to  be  obstinately  con- 
tested ;  and  a  small  matter^  perhaps^  xvoiild  be  SK^cient  ts 
turn  the  scale.  Never  were  the  holders  of  loans,  the  ful- 
fiUers  of  contracts,  and  the  expectants  of  places,  equally 
numerous  ;  with  respect  to  those,  who  reap  emolument 
from  stations  in  the  army,  the  navy,  or  the  church,  together 
with  those  who  fill  legal,  financial,  ard  municipal  situations  , 
never  did  they  constitute  throughout  Europe  a  body  of  per- 
sons, so  averse  to  reformation,  and  devoted  to  the  cause  of 
tyranny.  In  this  situation  of  things,  in  cannot  then  be 
doubted,  that,  at  the  period  when  the  happiness  of  all  is 
about  to  succeed  to  the  oppressions  of  the  few,  every  friend 
of  his  country,  who  combines  activity  with  virtue,  must 
prepare  to  make  numerous  sacrifices. 

But  whatever  sacrifices  it  may  be  necessary  to  make, 
whatever  dangers  it  may  be  necessary  to  encounter,  it  can- 
not be  doubted,  that  there  are  circumstances,  in  which  it 
would  be  criminal  not  to  oppose,  in  the  most  open  manner, 
the  plunderers  of  mankind.  The  following  extract  is  from  | 
a  dignitary  of  the  church,  whose   literary  productions  are 

57  Dr.  Jebb's  Works,  vol.  II  p.  44,  49. 


CHAP.  XXX.  283 

highly  estimated  in  our  universities,  and  whose  opinion^ 
are  listened  to  by  the  clergy  with  great  attention  and  re- 
spect. '  It  may  be  as  much  a  duty,  at  one  time,  to  resist 
government,  as  it  is,  at  another,  to  obey  it ;  to  wit,  when- 
ever more  advantage  will,  in  our  opinion,  accrue  to  the 
community,  from  resistance,  than  mischief.'  If,  says  the 
same  sagacious  writer  in  another  place,  I  should  be  accost- 
ed by  a  person,  *■  with  complaints  of  public  grievances,  of 
exorbitant  taxes,  of  acts  of  cruelty  and  oppression,  of  ty- 
rannical encroachments  upon  the  ancient  or  stipulated  rights 
of  the  people,  and  should  be  consulted,  whether  it  were 
lawful  to  revolt,  or  justifiable  to  join  in  an  attempt  to  shake 
off  the  yoke  by  open  resistance  ; — I  should  reply,  that  if 
public  expediency  be  the  foundation,  it  is  also  the  measure, 
of  civil  obedience ;  that  the  obligation  of  subjects  and  so- 
vereigns is  reciprocal ;  that  the  duty  of  allegiance,  whether 
it  be  founded  in  utility  or  compact,  is  neither  unlimited  nor 
unconditional ;  that  peace  may  be  purchased  too  dear;  that 
patience  becomes  culpable  pusillanimity,  when  it  serves  only 
to  encourage  our  rulers  to  ingrease  the  weight  of  our  bur- 
then, or  to  bind  it  the  faster ;  that  the  submission  which 
surrenders  the  liberty  of  a  nation,  and  entails  slavery  upon 
future  generations,  is  enjoined  by  no  rational  morality  : 
finally,  I  should  instruct  him  to  compare  the  peril  and  ex- 
pense of  his  enterprise  with  the  effects  it  was  expected  to 
produce,  and  to  make  choice  of  the  alternative,  by  which 
not  his  ow^n  present  relief  or  profit,  but  the  whole  and  per- 
manent interest  of  the  state,  was  likely  to  be  best  promot- 
ed'^'  Now  the  time  is  probably  not  very  remote,  when, 
in  different  countries  of  the  European  continent,  a  decided 


58  Archdeacon  Paley's  Principles  of  Mur.  and  Pol.  Phil.  7  ed.  vol.  II 
p.  144,  155.  Were  this  a  place  proper  for  the  discussion,  or  were  the  law- 
fulness of  resisting  the  tyranny  of  princes  a  question  which  admitted  of  a 
shadow  of  doubt,  it  would  be  easy  to  accumulate  the  names  of  celebrated 
persons  who  have  asserted  it.  Such  are  Milton,  Grotius  and  Buchanan, 
Sydney  and  Locke,  lords  Russel  and  Somers,  judge  Blackstone  and  lord 
Camden. 


284  CHAP.    XXX. 

majority  of  the  inhabitants  will  be  of  opinion,  that  *  the 
permanent  interest  of  the  state,'  and  that  the  whole  of  the 
people,  will  be  best  promoted  by  the  overthrow  of  the  ex- 
isting governors,  though  the  attendant  convulsion  should 
expose  multitudes  to  the  hazard  of  suffering,  for  a  time, 
considerable  inconveniences  and  calamities. 

Of  those,  in  whose  bosoms  joy  beats  the  highest,  on 
account  of  the  great  and  glorious  events  which  produced 
the  French  revolution,  a  large  part,  we  know  in  point  of 
fact,  were  persons  attached  to  religion  and  zealous  for  its 
interests.  I  think  it  also  probable,  that  there  will  be  many 
sincere  believers  in  Christianity  among  those  distinguished 
political  writers,  who  will  undoubtedly,  after  a  time,  arise 
in  France",  and  who  will  it  is  apprehended,  through  the 
medium  of  literature,  and  by  the  weapons  of  argument, 
undermine  the  subsisting  tyrannies,  which  the  armies  and 
valor  of  their  countrymen  had  before  so  openly  attacked 
and  so  materially  endangered. 

There  is  also  another  point  of  view,  in  which  Christiani- 
ty is  serviceable  to  Civil  Liberty.  '  The  temple,'  says  one 
the  most  elegant  writers  in  our  language,  '  is  the  only  place 
where  human  beings,  of  every  rank  and  sex  and  age,  meet 
together  for  one  common  purpose,  and  join  together  in  one 
common  act.  Other  meetings  are  either  political,  or  form- 
ed for  the  purposes  of  splendor  and  amusement ;  from 
both  which,  in  this  country,  the  bulk  of  inhabitants  are  of 
necessity  excluded.  This  is  the  only  place,  to  enter  which 
nothing  more  is  necessary  than  to  be  of  the  same  species  : 
the  onb.'  place,  where  man  meets  man  not  only  us  an  equal 
but  a  brother ;  and  where,  by  contemplating  his  duties,  he 
may  become  sensible  of  his  rights.     So  high  and  haughty 


59  To  the  probability  of  this  position  many  of  my  readers  will  probably 
yefuse  to  assent-  Should  the  author  of  the  present  work  publish  a  pamph- 
let, which  is  in  a  great  degree  written,  and  which  treats  on  the  effects 
which  the  French  Revolution  is  likely  ultimately  to  pi-oduce  with  respect, 
to  Chrlslinnity,  he  will  there  state  the  grounds  of  the  opinion  which  he 
has  hazai-dcd  in  the  text. 


CHAP.  XXX.  -  285 

is  the  spirit  of  aristocracy,  and  such  the  increasing  pride 
of  the  privileged  classes,  that  it  is  to  be  feared,  if  men  did 
not  attend  at  the  same  place  here,  it  would  hardly  be  be- 
lieved they  were  meant  to  go  to  the  same  place  hereafter. 
It  is  of  service  to  the  cause  of  freedom  therefore,  no  less 
than  to  that  of  virtue,  that  there  is  one  place,  where  the 
invidious  distinctions  of  wealth  and  titles  are  not  admitted  ; 
where  all  are  equal,  not  by  making  the  low,  proud,  but  by 
making  the  great,  humble.  How  many  a  man  exists  who 
possesses  not  the  smallest  property  in  this  earth  of  which 
you  call  him  lord ;  who,  from  the  narrowing  spirit  of  pro- 
perty, is  circumscribed  and  hemmed  in  by  the  possessions 
of  his  more  opulent  neighbors,  till  there  is  scarcely  an  un- 
occupied spot  of  verdure  on  which  he  can  set  his  foot  to 
admire  the  beauties  of  nature,  or  barren  mountain  on  which 
he  can  draw  the  fresh  air  without  a  trespass.  The  enjoy- 
ments of  life  are  for  others,  the  labors  of  it  for  him.  He 
hears  those  of  his  class  spoken  of  collectively,  as  of  ma- 
chines, which  are  to  be  kept  in  repair  indeed,  but  of  which 
the  sole  use  is  to  raise  the  happiness  of  the  higher  orders. 
Where,  but  in  the  temple  of  religion,  shall  he  learn  that  he 
is  of  the  same  species  ?  He  hears  there  (and  were  it  for 
the  first  time  it  would  be  with  infinite  astonishment),  that  all 
are  considered  as  alike  ignorant  and  to  be  instructed;  all 
alike  sinful  and  needing  forgiveness  ;  all  alike  bound  by  .the 
same  obligations,  and  animated  by  the  same  hopes.  In  the 
intercourses  of  the  world  the  poor  man  is  seen,  but  not 
noticed ;  he  may  be  in  the  presence  of  his  superiors,  but  he 
cannot  be  in  their  company.  In  every  other  place  it  would 
be  presumption  in  him  to  let  his  voice  be  heard  along  with 
theirs  ;  here  alone  they  are  heard  together,  and  blended  in 
the  full  chorus  of  praise.  In  every  other  place  it  would  be 
an  offence  to  be  near  them,  without  shewing  in  his  attitudes 
and  deportment  the  conscious  marks  of  inferiority ;  here 
only  he  sees  the  prostration  of  the  rich  as  low  as  his,  and 
hears  them  both  addressed  together  in  the  majestic  sym- 
plicity  of  a  language  that  knows  no  adulation.     Here  the 


286 


CHAP.  XXX. 


poor  man  learns,  that,  in  spite  of  the  distinctions  of  rank, 
and  the  apparent  inferiority  of  his  condition,  all  the  true 
goods  of  life,  all  that  men  dare  petition  for  when  in  the 
presence  of  their  maker,  a  sound  mind,  a  healthful  body, 
and  daily  bread,  lie  within  the  scope  of  his  own  hopes  and 
endeavors  ;  and  that,  in  the  large  inheritance  to  come,  his 
expectations  are  no  less  ample  than  theirs.  He  rises  from 
his  knees,  and  feels  himself  a  man.  He  learns  philosophy 
without  its  pride,  and  a  spirit  of  liberty  without  its  turbu- 
lence. Every  time  social  worship  is  celebrated,  it  includes 
a  virtual  declaration  of  the  rights  of  man**.' 

And  what  was  the  character  of  the  great  personage, 
whose  actions  are  recorded  in  the  gospel-narratives,  to  be 
admired  and  to  be  imitated  ?  Surely  it  was  not  such,  a^ 
should  deter  men  from  cherishing  an  ardent  fondness  for 
their  country,  or  from  undertaking  the  honorable  office  of  a 
reformer.  Christ,  says  the  accomplished  writer,  whom  I 
have  just  quoted,  '  was  the  Great  Reformer,  the  innovator 
of  his  day ;  and  the  strain  of  his  energetic  eloquence  was 
strongly  pointed  against  abuses  of  all  kinds'*'.' 


60  Mrs.  Barbauld's  Rem.  on  Mr.   Gilbert  Wakefield's  Enq.  into  the 
Expediency  and  Propriety  of  Social  Worship,  p.  43. 

61  Mrs.  Barbauld's  Rem.  ut  supra,  p.  31 


CHAP.   XXX.  «87 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XXX. 

On  the  effects  Christianity  has  produced,  in  favor  of 
freedom,  learning,  and  virtue. 

AS  an  inquiry  into  the  effects  favorable  to  freedom, 
which  the  spirit  and  the  principles  of  Christianity  have 
produced,  and  are  likely  to  produce,  is  an  investigation  of 
importance,  and  adapted  to  lessen  the  prejudices  against 
Christianity ;  as  I  know  no  writer  by  whom  it  has  been  dis- 
cussed at  any  considerable  length ;  as  it  will  furnish  a 
number  of  additional  facts  and  arguments  in  confirmation 
of  those,  which  have  been  recently  urged  in  reply  to  the 
objection,  xvith  xvhat  propriety  can  the  symbolic  stone  in 
Daniel  be  said  to  overthroxv  the  ten  toes  of  the  monarchical 
statue ;  as  it  will  communicate  to  the  mind  of  the  reader 
some  faint  idea  of  the  glorious  changes,  which  Christianity 
will  accomplish  in  that  happy  period  (the  nature  of  which 
it  has  been  the  design  of  the  preceding  chapter  briefly  to 
unfold),  when  that  divine  religion  shall  be  authenticated  by 
the  fulfilment  of  innumerable  prophecies,  shall  be  undis- 
graced  by  its  connexion  with  the  civil  power,  shall  rise 
superior  to  the  attacks  of  infidelity,  and  be  understood  with 
a  degree  of  correctness  unknown  in  former  times  ;  I  shall 
scarcely  think  an  apology  necessary  for  introducing  into  the 
present  appendix  a  numerous  assemblage  of  extracts. 

That  the  great  principles  of  Christianity  are  the  princi- 
ples of  philanthropy,  justice  and  equality,  and  that  it  is  alto- 
gether incompatible  with  those  systems  of  oppression  and 
injustice,  which  at  present  darken  the  face  of  the  European 
world,  is  the  argument  on  which  I  would  lay  principal  stress 
in  replying  to  the  objection  which  has  been  just  recited. 

The  argument  which  asserts  that  Christianity  has  pro- 
moted the  interests  of  freedom,  by  promoting  the  interests  of 


288  CHAP.  XXX. 

literature  and  knowlege,  I  confess,  is  less  direct,  less  deci- 
sive, and  more  liable  to  objection.  That  it  is  not,  hoAvever, 
without  its  weight,  the  following  facts  and  observations  will 
evince. 

Few  persons  are,  I  believe,  apprised  how  great  was 
the  danger,  that  every  work  of  Grecian  and  Roman  lite- 
rature would  have  been  destroyed  in  the  dark  ages,  a  long 
and  melancholy  period  ;  when  the  Barbarians  of  the  Noith 
and  the  East,  and  the  equally  illiterate  Mahometans  of  the 
South,  issuing  from  the  morass,  or  the  forest,  or  the  desert, 
laid  waste  and  subdued  every  province  and  every  city  of  the 
Roman  empire,  excepting  Constantinople  and  its  immedi- 
ate environs.  Independenth^  also  of  the  calamitous  effects, 
resulting  from  a  permanent  anarchy  and  perpetual  wars^*, 
the  state  of  society  and  manners  strongly  tended  to  preci- 
pitate the  inhabitants  of  the  Western  world  into  a  total  ig- 
norance of  letters.  Scarcely  was  there  any  middle  rank  of 
citizens.  Now  knowlege,  it  is  well  known,  is  least  culti- 
vated by  those  in  the  highest  and  those  in  the  lowest  ranks 
of  life  :  and  the  want  of  it,  says  Dr.  Henry,  '  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  extreme  dissipation  of  the  former,  who  spent 
almost  all  their  time,  when  they  were  not  engaged  in  war, 
in  rural  diversions  or  domestic  riots  ;  and  by  the  no  less 
extreme  depression  of  the  latter,  who  were  doomed  to  per- 
petual servitude  and  hard  labor*^  '  If,'  says  a  Scottish 
historian  of  greater  celebrity  and  greater  genius,  '  men  do 
not  enjoy  the  protection  of  regular  government,  together 
with  the  expectation  of  personal  security,  which  naturally 
flows  from  it,  they  never  attempt  to  make  progress  in  sci- 
ence.— In  less  than  a  century  after  the  barbarous  nations 
settled  in  their  new  conquests,  almost  all  the  effects  of  the 
knowlege  and  civility,  which  the  Romans  had  spread  through 

Europe,    disappeared The    barbarous   nations   were   not 

only  illiterate,  but  regarded  literature  with  contempt.  They 

62  On  the  depredations  of  the  barbarians  see  vol.  II.  from  p.   55,  to  67, 
of  the  present  work. 

63  Hist  of  Great  Britain,  8vo.  vol.  VI.   p.  169. 


CHAP.  XXX.  289 

found  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  provinces  of  the  empire, 
sunk  in  effeminacy,  and  averse  to  war.  Such  a  character 
was  the  object  of  scorn  to  an  high-spirited  and  gallant  race 
of  men. — This  degeneracy  of  mannei-s  illiterate  barbarians 
imputed  to  their  love  of  learning.  Even  after  they  settled 
in  the  countries  which  they  had  conquered,  they  would  not 
permit  their  children  to  be  instructed  in  any  science  ;  "  for 
(said  they)  instruction  in  the  sciences  tends  to  corrupt, 
enervate,  and  depress  the  mind  ;  and  he  who  has  been  ac- 
customed to  tremble  under  the  rod  of  a  pedagogue,  will 
never  look  on  a  sword  or  spear  with  an  undaunted  eye.**"— 
The  whole  history  of  the  middle  age  makes  it  evident,  that 
war  was  the  sole  profession  of  gentlemen,  and  the  only  ob- 
ject attended  to  in  their  education''^' 

Literature  is  now  superior  to  contingencies.  To  annihi- 
late it,  is  equally  beyond  the  power  of  barbarians  and  the 
efforts  of  princes.  But,  from  the  beginning  of  the  vth  to 
the  conclusion  of  the  xiiith  century,  its  existence  was  pre- 
carious and  insecure.  Indeed,  even  at  the  commencement 
of  this  period,  when  no  great  number  of  books  had  been 
destroyed,  they  were  compai^atively  scarce,  as  paper  was 
not  invented,  nor  the  art  of  printing  discovered.  In  Eng« 
land,  for  instance,  so  many  books,  says  Dr.  Henry,  had 
been  carried  away,  or  they  had  been  '  so  entirely  destroyed 
by  the  Scots,  Picts,  and  Saxons,  that  it  is  a  little  uncertain, 
whether  there  was  so  much  as  one  book  left  in  England  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  Augustin.'  And  '  we  are,'  says  Dr. 
Henry,  '  assured  by  the  illustrious  Roger  Bacon,  that  there 
were  not  above  four  persons  among  the  Latins,  in  his  time, 
who  understood  Greek^.' 

After  regretting  the  fate  of  the  '  libraries  which  have 
been  involved  in  the  ruin  of  the  Roman  empire,'  Mr.  Gib* 

64  Piocopius  de  Bello  GoUior.  lib.  1.  p.  4. 

65  Dr.  Robertson's  View  of  the  Progress  of  Society  in  Europe,  8vo.  p 
21,  234,  335. 

66  Hist,  of  Great  Brit;iln,  vol.  IV.  p.  20,  81 ;  vc^l.  VIII,  p.  188!    > 

Vol.  II.  oo 


290  CHAP.  XXX. 

bon  says,  '  uhen  I  seriously  compute  the  lapse  of  ages,  the 
v.-aste  of  ignorance,  and  the  calamities  of  war,  our  trea- 
sures, rather  than  our  losses,  are  the  object  of  my  surprise. 
— ^Ve  should  gratefully  remember,  that  the  mischances  of 
time  and  accident  have  spared  the  classic  works  to  which 
ihe  suffrage  of  antiquity  had  adjudged  the  first  place  of 
genius  and  glory  :  the  teachers  of  ancient  knowlege,  who 
are  stiil  extant,  had  perused  and  compared  the  writings  o£ 
th«ir  predecessors  ;  nor  can  it  fairly  be  presumed,  that  any 
important  truth,  any  useful  discovery  in  art  or  nature,  has 
been  snatched  away  from  the  curiosity  of  modem  ages^^.' 

But  what  was  the  cause,  that  so  many  invaluable  remains 
of  the  literature  of  Greece  and  Rome  were  rescued  from 
destruction,  amidst  the  d'-molition  of  cities,  the  downfal 
of  nations,  and  the  overthrow  of  arts  and  languages?  Of 
the  writings  and  the  languages  of  Egypt  and  Carthage 
scarcely  the  faintest  vestige  is  now  any  where  to  be  found ; 
though  they  were  two  of  the  states  most  distinguished  in 
ancient  times  for  population  and  power,  for  opulence  and 
civilization.  The  latter  have  perished,  and  the  former  have 
been  preserved  ;  and  Christianity  has  been  the  cause  of 
their  preservation.  Let  us  trace  its  history,  and  that  of  the 
institutions  to  which  it  gave  birth ;  and  we  shall,  though 
aware  of  the  lasting  and  widely  diflfused  depredations  of  the 
barbarous  nations,  cease  to  feel  with  Mr.  Gibbon  any  sur- 
prise at  the  extent  of  our  literary  treasures. 

*  The  keys  of  learning,'  says  Dr.  Jortin,  '  are  the  learned 

languages,  and  a  grammatical  and  critical  skill  in  them 

The  New  Testament,  being  written  in  Greek,  caused  Chris- 
tians to  apply  themselves  to  the  study  of  that  most  copious 
and  beautiful  language.*  In  order  to  enable  them  to  con- 
fute their  adversaries,  and  *  t(V  expose  the  absurdities  of 
Jewish  Traditions,  the  weakness  of  Paganism,  and  the  im- 
perfections and  insufficiency  of  Philosophy. — Jewish  and 
Pagan  literature  were  necessary,   and  what  we   call  philo- 

~'g — A      —        ...      -■  — ■ — —       * 

67  Vol.  IX,  p.  442. 


CHAP.    XXX.  291 

logy,  or  classical  erudition*'*.  And  thus  the  Christians  be» 
came  in  learning  superior  to  the  Pagans.*  In  the  '  third 
century,  the  Latin  language  was  much  upon  the  decline  ; 
but  the  Christians  preserved  it  from  sinking  into  absolute 
barbarism  ;  and  of  the  Latin  Fathers  in  this  and  the  fol- 
lowing ages,  it  may  be  affirmed,  that  most  of  them  wrote 
as  well,  at  least,  as  their  Pagan  contemporaries,  and  some 
of  them  better  ;  for  this  is  a  fair  way  of  trying  their  abili- 
ties, and  it  is  not  reasonable  to  expect  of  them  that  they 
should  equal  Caesar  or  Livy,  Sallust  or  Cicero.' 

Pernicious  as  were  many  of  the  effects  which  flowed  from 
monastic  institutions,  they  were  not  without  their  benefits. 
The  monks  have  '  transmitted  to  us  those  Latin  and  Greek 
Classics,  which  we  now  possess,  and  which  would  have 
perished,  had  it  not  been  for  their  labors,  and  for  the  libra- 
ries contained  in  the  monasteiies^.     To  them  we   owe  co- 


68  •  The  Christian  fathers  studied  the  writing's  of  the  ancients,  first,  to 
furnish  themselves  with  weapons  ag-ainst  their  adversaries  ;  next,  to  sup- 
port the  Christian  doctrine,  by  maintaining  its  consonancy  to  reason,  and  its 
supei'iority  to  the  most  perfect  s)'stems  of  Pagan  wisdom  ;  and,  lastly,  to 
adorn  themselves  with  the  embellishments  of  erudition  and  eloquence. 
Basil  wrote  a  distinct  treatise,  upon  the  benefits  which  young  persons 
might  receive  from  reading  the  writings  of  heathens.  His  pupil,  Gre- 
gory Thaumaturgus,  in  his  panegvTic  on  Origen,  insists  largely  upon  the 
same  topic  ;  highly  commending  him  for  having,  after  the  example  of  his 
preceptor  Clemens  Alexan^hinus  industriousl)'  instructed  his  pupils  in  phi- 
losophy.' Dr.  Enfield's  History  of  Philosophy,  d^a^vn  up  from  Brucker's 
Hhtoria  Critica  Philosophice,  vol.  II.  p.  276. 

69  Similar  is  the  statement  of  Mosheim.  Speaking  of  the  sixth  century, 
he  says,  •  the  liberal  arts  and  sciences  would  have  been  totally  extinguished, 
had  they  not  found  a  place  of  refuge,  such  as  it  was,  among  the  bishops 
and  the  monastic  orders.'  To  the  monasteries,  '  we  owe  the  preservation 
and  possession  of  all  the  ancient  authors  sacred  and  profane.'  Eccl.  Hist, 
vol.  I.  p.  437,  438. 

*  About  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century,  books  had,'  says  Denina, 
« become  so  scarce  in  Spain,  that  one  and  the  same  copy  of  the  bible,  St. 
Jerome's  epistles,  and  some  volumes  of  rules,  offices,  and  etymologies  of- 
ten sei'ved  several  monasteries. '  Denina's  Ess.  on  the  Revolutions  of  Li- 
terature, p.  72.  '  One  example,'  says  Dr.  Henry,  '  will  be  sufficient  to 
give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  price  of  books  in  England  in  the  seventh 
century.     Benedict  Biscop,  founder  of  the  monastery  of  Weremouth  in 


292  CHAP.  XXX. 

pies  of  the  Roman  law,  of  the  Theodosian  and  Justinian 
Codes  ;  and  the  Roman  laws  being  adopted,  more  or  less,  in 
Christian  nations,  and  the  study  of  them  being  honorable 
and  profitable,  conduced  greatly  to  the  preservation  of  lite- 
rature in  general,  and  of  the  Latin  language  in  particular.* 
Had  Christianity  been  suppressed  at  its  first  appearance, 
and  no  traces  of  it  been  left,  '  it  is,'  says  Dr.  Jortin,  '  ex- 
tremely probable,  that  the  Latin  and  Greek  tongues  would 
have  been  lost  in  the  revolutions  of  empire,  and  the  irrup- 
tions of  Barbarians  in  the  East  and  in  the  West;  for  the 
old  inhabitants  would  have  had  no  conscientious  and  religi- 
ous motives  to  keep  up  their  languages.  And  then,  together 
with  the  Latin  and  Greek  tongues,  the  knowlege  of  an- 
tiquities, and  the  ancient  writers,  would  have  been  destroyed. 
You  may  see  something  of  this  kind  in  the  present  state  of 
Afric,  where  the  Latin  tongue  is  absolutely  unknown,  al- 
though in  the  fifth  century  it  was  spoken  there  as  in  Italy. 
Idolatry  and  superstition,  in  some  shape  or  other,  would 
have  been  the  religion  of  the  populace,  and  the  upper  sort 
would  have  been  for  the  most  part  Sceptics  or  Atheists, 
with  a  mixture  of  some  Deists.' 


Northumberland,  made  no  fewer  than  five  journeys  to  Rome  to  purchase 
books,  vessels,  vestments,  and  other  ornaments,  for  his  monastery ;  by 
which  he  collected  a  very  valuable  library  ;  for  one  book  out  of  which  (a 
volume  on  cosmogi-aphy),  king-  Aldfred  gave  him  an  estate  of  eig-ht  hides, 
or  as  much  land  as  eight  ploughs  could  labor.'  Hist,  of  Gr.  Br.  vol.  IV.  p.  20_ 
The  following  facts  are  from  Dr.  Robertson  (View  of  the  Progress  of  So- 
ciety, 8cc  p.  281).  'Lupus,  abbot  of  Ferriores,  in  a  letter  to  the  pope, 
A.  D.  855,  beseeches  him  to  lend  him  a  copy  of  Cicero  de  Oratore  and 
QiiintiUans  Institutions,  "  for,"  says  he,  "  although  we  have  parts  of  those 
books,  there  is  no  complete  copy  of  them  in  all  France." — '  The  countess 
of  Anjou  paid  for  a  copy  of  the  Homilies  of  Haimon,  bishop  of  Halberstadt, 
200  sheep,  5  quarters  of  wheat,  and  the  same  quantity  of  rye  and  millet. — 
Even  so  late  as  the  year  14ri,  when  Louis  XL  borrowed  the  works  of 
Rasis,  the  Arabian  physician,  from  the  faculty  of  medicine  in  Paris,  he 
not  only  deposited  in  pledg'e  a  considerable  quantity  of  plate,  but  was 
obliged  to  procure  a  nobleman  to  join  with  him  as  surety  in  a  deed,  bind- 
ing himself  under  a  great  forfeiture  to  restore  it.' 


CHAP.  XXX.  293 

After  urging  various  other  cii-cuinstances,  Dr.  Jortin 
concludes  his  observations  by  asserting,  '  that  the  learning 
which  now  exists  is,  if  not  solely,  yet  principally  to  be 
ascribed  to  Christianity  ;  and  that  its  Divine  Author  said 
most  justly  of  himself,  in  this  sense  also,  lajn  the  light  of 
the  xvorld^^: 

'  The  Christian  religion,'  says  Mr.  Coxe,  tended  in  Rus- 
sia, '  as  well  as  in  most  other  countries  in  Europe,  to  pre- 
serve some  small  remains  of  literature  in  the  schools  and 
seminaries  of  the  several  monasteries.'  Thus  each  of  these 
mansions  of  superstition  became  an  asylum  for  the  preser- 
vation of  knowlege'".  To  the  monks  of  Russia,  and  to 
those  of  the  other  countries  of  Europe,  we  are  also  almost 
exclusively  indebted  for  our  knowlege  of  the  history  of  the 
middle  ages. 

Where,  but  in  monasteries,  says  a  female  writer  of  splen- 
did talents,  '  could  the  precious  remains  of  classical  learn- 
ing, and  the  divine  monuments  of  ancient  taste,  have  been 
safely  lodged  amidst  the  ravages  of  that  age  of  ferocity 
and  rapine,  which  succeeded  the  desolation  of  the  Roman 
empire,  except  in  sanctuaries  like  these,  consecrated  by  the 
superstition  of  the  times  beyond  their  intrinsic  merit  ?  The 
frequency  of  wars,  and  the  licentious  cruelty  with  which 
they  were  conducted,  left  neither  the  hamlet  of  the  peasant, 
nor  the  castle  of  the  baron,  free  from  depredation  ;  but  the 
church  and  monastery  generally  remained  inviolate. — Some 
of  the  barbarous  nations  were  converted  before  their  con- 
quests, and  most  of  them  soon  after  their  settlement  in  the 
countries  they  over-ran.  Those  buildings,  which  their 
ne\v  faith  taught  them  to  venerate,  afforded  a  shelter  for 
those  valuable  manuscripts,  which  must  otherwise  have 
been  destroyed  in  the  common  wreck.  At  the  revival  of 
learning  they  were  produced  from  their  dormitories.'  It 
was  in  the  monasteries  that  most  of  the   classics  were  dis- 


70  See  a  Charge,  delivered  May  3,   1765,  annexed  to  the  end  of  vol. 
VII.  of  JortinV  Sermons,  p.  353 — o77. 

71  Travels  into  Poland,  Russia,  S;c.  8vo.  vol.  III.  p.  292. 


294  CHAP.  XXX. 

covered ;  '  and  to  this  it  is  oAving,  to  the  books  and  learning 
preserved  in  these  repositories,  that  we  were  not  obliged  to 
begin  anew,  and  trace  every  art  by  slow  and  uncertain  steps 
from  its  first  origin.  Science,  already  full  grown  and  vigo- 
rous, awaked  as  from  a  trance,  shook  her  pinions,  and  soon 
soared  to  the  heights  of  knowlege.' 

The  monks,  besides  being  '  obliged  bv  their  rules  to 
spend  some  stated  hours  every  day  in  reading  and  study,' 
were  *  almost  the  sole  instructors  of  youth.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  10th  century  there  were  no  schools  in  Europe 
but  the  monasteries,  and  those  which  belonged  to  episcopal 
residences  ;  nor  any  masters  but  the  Benedictines.'  The 
frequent  intercourse  of  the  monks  '  with  Rome  must  have 
been  peculiarly  favorable  to  these  Northern  nations ;  as 
Italy  for  a  long  time  led  the  way  in  every  improvement  of 
politeness  or  literature  :  and,  if  we  imported  their  super- 
stition, we  likewise  imported  their  manufactures,  their 
knowlege,  and  their  taste.' 

'  Forbidding  the  vulgar  tongue  in  the  offices  of  devotion, 
and  in  reading  the  scriptures,  though  undoubtedly  a  great 
corruption  in  the  Christian  church,  was  of  infinite  service 
to  the  interests  of  learning.  When  the  ecclesiastics  had 
locked  up  their  religion  in  a  foreign  tongue,  they  would 
take  care  not  to  lose  the  key.  This  gave  an  importance  to 
the  learned  languages  ;  and  every  scholar  could  not  only 
read,  but  wrote  and  disputed  in  Latin,  which  without  such 
a  motive  would  probably  have  been  no  more  studied  than 
the  Chinese.  And,  at  a  time  when  the  modern  languages 
of  Europe  were  yet  unformed  and  barbarous,  Latin  was  of 
great  use  as  a  kind  of  universal  tongue,  by  which  learned 
men  might  converse  and  correspond  with  each  other.'  In 
the  present  age,  when  learning  is  diffused  through  every 
rank,  we  can  scarcely  conceive,  *-  how  totally  all  useful 
learning  might  have  been  lost  amongst  us,  had  it  not  been 
for  an  order  of  men,  vested  with  peculiar  privileges,  and 
protected  by  even  a  superstitious  degree  of  reverence^\'    It 


72  Scarcely  any  of  the  laity,  it  is  to  be  recollected,  knew  how  to  write. 
♦  Materials  for  writing  were  also,'  says  Dr.  Henry,  •  very  scarce  and  dear. 


CHAP.  XXX.  295 

must  have  been  of  service  also  *■  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  to 
have  a  set  of  men,  whose  laws,  p  rivileges,  and  immunities 
the  most  daring  kings  were  afraid  to  trample  on  ;  and  this, 
before  a  more  enlightened  spirit  of  freedom  had  arisen, 
might  have  its  effect  in  preventing  the  states  of  Christen- 
dom from  falling  into  such  entire  slavery  as  the  Asiatics.* 

*  Let  it  be  considered  too,  that  when  the  minds  of  men 
began  to  open,  some  of  the  most  eminent  reformers  sprung 
from  the  bosom  of  the  church,  and  even  of  the  convent. 
It  was  not  the  laity  who  began  to  think.  The  ecclesiastics 
were  the  first  to  perceive  the  errors  they  had  introduced. 
The  church  was  reformed  from  within,  not  from  without^^' 

The  effects  Christianity  has  produced  in  the  different 
countries  of  Europe,  in  the  diffusion  of  knowlege,  may  be 
illustrated  by  a  recital  of  some  of  the  beneficial  alterations 
it  created  in  our  own  island.  They  are  taken  from  Dr. 
Henry,  one  of  the  most  accurate  and  best  informed  of  our 
British  historians. 

'  The  conversion  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  to  Christianity,  in 
the  course  of  the  7th  century,  contributed  not  a  little  to  en-  . 
lighten  their  minds,  and  promote  the  interest  of  learning. — 
Before  that  event,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  learning,  nor 
any  means  of  obtaining  it,  in  that  part  of  Britain  which 
they  inhabited.'  Their  ancient  religion  '  had  a  tendency  to 
inspire  them  with  nothing  but  a  brutal  contempt  of  death* 


which  made  few  persons  think  of  learning  that  art.'  Acccrding-ly  '  great 
estates  were  often  transferred  from  one  owner  to  another  by  a  mere  verbal 
agreement,  and  the  dehvery  of  earth  and  stone,  before  witnesses,  with- 
out any  written  deed.  Parchment,  in  particuhir,  on  which  all  their 
books  were  written,  was  so  difficult  to  be  procured,  that  many  of  the 
MSS.  of  the  middle  ages,  which  are  still  preserved,  appear  to  have  beeu 
written  on  parchment  from  which  some  former  writing  had  been  erased.' 
Hist,  of  Great  Britain,  vol.  IV.  p.  81.  Montfaucon,  indeed,  affirms,  that 
from  the  greater  part  of  the  manuscripts  on  parchment,  which  he  had  seen, 
some  former  treatise  had  been  erased.  See  Jortin  on  Eccl,  Hist.  vol.  IV. 
p.  250. 

73  Miscellaneous  Pieces,  in  Prose,  by  J.  and  A.  L'  Aikin,  p.  91 — 118. 


296  CHAP.  XXX. 

and  a  savage  delight  in  war.  As  long,  therefore,  as  they 
continued  in  the  belief  and  practice  of  that  wretched  su- 
perstition, they  seem  to  have  been  incapable  either  of  sci- 
ence or  civility  ;  but,  by  their  conversion  to  Christianity, 
they  became  accessable  to  both.'  Besides,  '  such  of  the 
first  Anglo-Saxon  converts  as  designed  to  embrace  the  cleri- 
cal profession  (of  which  there  were  many),  were  obliged  to 
apply  to  some  parts  of  learning,  to  qualify  themselves  for 
that  office ;  and  it  became  necessery  to  provide  schools  for 
their  instruction.  The  truth  of  these  observations  is  confirm- 
ed by  many  unquestionable  facts,  wl  ich  prove  that  the  English 
began  to  pay  some  attention  to  learning  (which  they  had 
before  neglected),  as  soon  as  they  were  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity^*. The  first  Christian  king  in  England  was  the  first 
English  legislator  who  committed  his  laws  to  writing.  Sig- 
bert,  king  of  the  East- Angles,  immediately  after  his  con- 
version, founded  a  famous  school  for  the  education  of 
youth  in  his  dominions,  A.  D.  630. — In  a  word,  some  of 
the  English  clergy,  in  the  end  of  this  and  the  next  century, 
became  famous  for  their  learning,  and  were  admired  by  all 
Europe  as  prodigies  of  erudition.  So  great  and  happy  a 
change  did  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  though  not  in 
its  purest  form,  produce  in  the  mental  improvements  of  our 
ancestors.' 

To  descend  to  particulars,  it  may  be  added,  that  Theo- 
dore, who  was  a  native  of  Tarsus  in  Cilicia,  being  advanced 
to  the  archbishopric  of  Canterbury,  A.  D.  668,  and  bemg 
*  informed  of  the  gross  and  general  ignorance  of  the'  Eng- 
lish, '  resolved  to  promote  the  interest  of  useful  learning 
amo^igst  them,  as  the  most  effectual  means  of  promoting 


74  At  a  later  period  the  conversion  of  the  Normans  produced  similar 
effects.  '  The  reception  of  Christianity  had,'  says  Mosheim,  '  polished 
and  ci\ilised,  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  the  rug-g-ed  minds  of  the  valiant 
Normans  ;  for  those  fierce  w^irriors,  who,  under  the  dai-kness  of  pagan- 
ism, had  manifested  the  utmost  aversion  to  all  branches  of  knowlege  and. 
every  kind  of  instruction,  distinguished  themselves,  after  their  conversion, 
by  their  ardent  application  to  the  study  of  religion  and  the  pui-suit  of  learn- 
ing.'    Eccl.  Hist.  vol.  II.  p.  249. 


CHAP.  XXX.  29T 

that  of  true  religion.  With  this  view  he  brought  with  him 
from  Rome  a  valuable  collection  of  books,  and  several  pro- 
fessors of  the  sciences,  particularly  abbot  Adrian,  to  assist 
him  in  the  education  of  the  English  youth.  This  scheme, 
as  we  learn  from  Bede,  was  crowned  with  the  greatest  suc- 
cess. "  These  two  great  men  (Theodore  and  Adrian), 
excelling  in  all  parts  of  sacred  and  civil  learning,  collected 
a  great  multitude  of  scholars,  whom  they  daily  instructed 
in  the  sciences,  reading  lectures  to  them  on  poetry,  astrono- 
my, and  arithmetic,  as  well  as  on  divinity  and  the  holy 
scriptures'''."  And  Dr.  Henry,  speaking  of  a  later  period, 
says,  *  there  v/as  a  school  more  or  less  famous  in  almost  every 
convent.  We  may  form  some  idea  of  the  number  added  to  the 
schools  of  England  by  this  means,  if  we  consider,  that  there 
were  no  fewer  than  557  religious  houses  of  different  kinds 
founded  in  it  between  the  conquest  and  the  death  of  king 
John. — In  the  schools  of  all  the  larger  monasteries,  besides 
tlie  necessary  parts  of  learning,  several  other  sciences  were 
taught,  as  rhetoric,  logic,  theology,  medicine,  with  the  civil 
and  canon  law.'  With  respect  to  the  period  intervening 
betw^een  the  year  1066  and  1216,  the  historian  also  says, 
'  though  the  circle  of  the  sciences  was  enlarged,  and  learn- 
ing was  cultivated  v/ith  greater  assiduity  in  this  than  in  the 
former  period ;  yet  this  was  chiefly,  or  rather  almost  only, 
by  the  clergy.' 

The  erection  of  so  many  monasteries  in  England,  ^  may 
be  reckoned  among  the  causes  of  the  revival  of  learning, 
by  increasing  the  number  both  of  teachers  and  students,  by 
multiplying  the  inducements  to  pursue,  and  the  opportu- 
nities to  acquire,  knowlege,  but  chiefly  by  making  books 
much  more  common  and  attainable  than  they  had  been  in 
any  former  period. — The  government  of  these  religious 
houses  was  commonly  bestowed  on  men  of  learning;  and, 
being  attended  with  considerable  degrees  of  power  and  dig- 
nity, afforded  strong  incentives  to  study.     A  library  was 

75  '  Bed.  Kist.  Eccl.  L.  4.  c.  2.' 

Vol.  II.  p  p 


2&8  CHAP.    XXX. 

then  esteemed  so  essential  to  a  monastery,  that  it  became  a 
proverb,  "  A  convent  without  a  library  is  like  a  castle  with- 
out an  armory."  Some  of  these  monastic  libraries  were 
very  valuable.  Though  the  abbey  of  Croyland  was  burnt 
only  twenty-live  years  after  the  conquest,  its  library  then 
consisted  of  900  volumes,  of  which  300  were  veiy  large. 
To  provide  books  for  the  use  of  the  church,  and  for  furnish- 
ing their  libraries,  there  was  in  every  monastery  a  room 
called  the  Scriptorhim^  or  writing-chamber,  in  which  several 
of  the  younger  monks  were  constantly  employed  in  tran- 
scribing books  ;  and  to  which,  in  some  monasteries,  con- 
siderable revenues  were  appropriated.  A  noble  Norman, 
who  was  a  great  encourager  of  learning,  left  his  own  library 
to  that  of  the  abbey  of  St.  Albans,  A.  D.  1086,  and  granted 
two  thirds  of  the  tithes  of  Hatfield,  and  certain  tithes  in 
Redburn,  to  support  the  writers  in  the  scriptorium  of  thr 
abbey.  Where  there  were  no  fixed  revenues  for  defraying 
the  expences  of  procuring  books  for  the  library,  the  abbot, 
with  the  consent  of  the  chapter,  commonly  imposed  an  an- 
nual tax  on  every  member  of  the  community  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  monks  of  some  monasteries,  in  this  period, 
were  bitterly  reproached  for  the  extravagant  sums  they  ex- 
pended on  their  libraries^^' 

Thus  it  appears,  that  Christianity,  and  the  institutions 
which  arose  out  of  it,  have  greatly  contributed  to  the  pre- 
servation of  knowlege,  and  to  its  subsequent  diffusion, 
throughout  the  whole  of  Europe,  and  in  England  in  par- 
ticular^^     Nor  will  its  progress  in  the  latter  country  be  re- 


76  Henry's  Hist,  of  Great  Bntain,  8vo.  vol.  IV.  p.  8 — 13;  vol.  VI. 
p.  118, 121,  164. 

77  Dr.  Pi'iestley,  after  observing-,  that  •  religion  has  often  operated 
powerfully  in  favor  of  the  best  interests  of  mankind,  independently  of,  and 
in  contradiction  to,  the  views  of  the  civil  magistrate,*  says,  •  it  is  an 
obsen'ation  of  Mr.  Hume's,  that  the  precious  sparks  of  liberty  were 
kindled  and  preserved  by  the  puritans  in  England,  and  that  •'  it  is  to  this 
sect,  whose  principles  appear  so  frivolous,  and  whose  habits  so^idiculous, 
that  the  English  owe  the  whole  freedom  of  their  constitution."  Lect.  on 
Hist.  4to.  p.  4^. 


CHAP.  XXX.  J^SP 

garded  as  having  been  of  small  consequence  to  the  cause  of 
Civil  Liberty.  France  in  particular  has  been  greatly  bene- 
fitted by  the  propagation  of  knowlege  in  England. 

Thus  in  the  eighth  century  it  was  under  essential  obliga- 
tions to  that  enlightened  Englishman,  the  abbot  Alcuin, 
the  favorite  of  Charlemagne.  Cave,  speaking  of  him,  says, 
*  for  all  the  polite  learning  of  which  France  boasted  in  that 
and  the  following  ages,  she  is  wholly  indebted  to  him.  The 
universities  of  Paris  and  Tours,  of  Fulden  and  Soissons, 
and  many  others,  owe  to  him  their  origin  and  increase  ; 
with  respect  to  which,  if  he  did  not  personally  preside  over 
them,  or  if  he  did  not  lay  their  foundations,  he  at  least  en- 
lightened them  by  his  learning,  directed  them  by  his  exam- 
ple, and  enriched  them  by  the  benefits  which  he  obtained 
for  them  from  Charlemagne^^' 

That,  for  a  considerable  time  previously  to  the  asra  of 
their  revolution,  the  French  imitated  not  only  the  manners, 
but  assiduously  studied  the  writings,  of  the  English,  can- 
not be  doubted.  Nor  could  the  perusal  of  such  writings 
as  those  of  Harrington  and  Milton,  Sydney  and  Locke, 
fail  to  produce  a  powerful  effect  in  exciting  a  love  of  liberty, 
and  a  searching  spirit  of  political  inquiry,  in  the  philoso- 
phers of  France ;  and,  without  the  literary  productions  of 
the  latter,  the  French  revolution  would  not  have  been  ac- 
complished. The  following  is  the  statement  of  Voltaire. 
With  respect  to  England,  the  concluding  part  cannot  but  be 
thought  too  complimentary.  The  Italians,  says  he,  '  are 
afraid  to  think ;  the  French  have  thought  but  half-way  ; 
and  the  English,  who  have  soared  to  heaven,  because  their 
wings  have  not  been  clipped,  are  become  the  preceptors  of 
the  world.  We  are  indebted  to  them  for  every  thing,  from 
the  primitive  laws  of  gravitation,  the  account  of  infinity, 
and  the  precise  knowlege  of  light  so  vainly  opposed,  down 


78  Hlstoria  Literaria,  ed.  1740,  vol.  I  p.  6"* 


300  CHAP.  XXX. 

to  the  new-invented  plow,  and  the  practice  of  inoculation, 
which  are  still  subjects  of  controversy^'.' 

The  political  principles,  which  were  finally  productive  of 
the  American  revolution,  were  originally  transplanted  to  the 
new  world  from  the  British  soil.  Now  the  mighty  benefits, 
in  favor  of  freedom,  originating  in  the  establishment  of 
liberty  on  the  North  American  continent,  it  is  impossible 
to  calculate.  To  the  French  revolution  in  particular  it  was 
eminently  conducive  ;  and  it  was  so  in  two  important  re- 
spects. When  the  officers  and  the  soldiers,  who,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  had  fought  successfully  in  the 
land  of  insurrection  and  under  the  banners  of  freedom, 
returned  to  their  own  country  and  to  the  bosom  of  their 
families,  they  failed  not  to  kindle  some  of  that  political 
zeal,  and  to  circulate  some  of  those  important  truths,  which 
they  had  imbibed  during  their  abode  in  the  other  hemis- 

79  Translation  of  a  piece  of  Voltaire's,  published  in  the  Gi'and  Mag-a- 
zine,  vol.  II.  p.  414.  In  a  speech  delivered  in  tlie  year  1789,  in  the  Patriotic 
Society  of  Dijon,  M.  Navier  made  the  following  dtxlaration.  *  Why  should 
■we  be  ashamed  to  acknowlege,  tliat  the  Revolution,  which  is  now  esta- 
blishing' itself  in  our  own  country,  is  owing  to  the  example  given  by  Eng- 
land a  century  ago  ?  It  was  from  tl)at  day  we  became  acquainted  with 
the  political  constitution  of  that  island,  and  the  pros})erity  with  which  it 
was  accompanied ;  it  was  from  that  day  our  hatred  of  despotism  derived 
its  energy.  In  secm-ing  tlieir  own  happiness.  Englishmen  have  prepared 
the  way  for  tliat  of  the  universe.  Whilst,  on  all  sides,  tyrants  were  at- 
tempiing  to  extinguish  the  sacred  flame  of  liberty,  our  neig-jibors  with 
intrepid  watchfulness  and  care  cherished  it  in  their  bosoms.  We  have 
caught  some  of  these  salutary  sparks;  and  tliis  fire,  entiaming  every  mind, 
is  extending  itself  over  all  Europe.'  In  tlieir  address  to  tlie  Revolution 
Society  of  London,  the  members  of  the  Patriotic  Union  of  the  city  of  Lisle 
have  expressed  similar  sentiments.  *  It  must  be  owned,  that  in  politics  as 
in  phi  osophy,  you  are  the  instructors  and  examples  of  the  whole  world. 
It  is  among  you  ;  yes,  it  is  in  your  favored  isle,  tliat  liberty,  every  wliere 
attacked,  and  trampled  upon  by  despotism,  has  found  a  sacred  asylum, 
and,  if  France  should  obtain  that  invaluable  blessing,  she  will  perhaps  be 
more  indebted  for  it  to  your  nation  than  to  herself;  for,  if  we  had  not 
been  encouraged  by  yoiu"  example  andfenlightened  by  your  experience,  we 
might  yet  perhaps  hu/e  been  unable  to  break  our  chains.'  Correspondtncf 
of  the  Ji(volutio?i  Societjf  mth  the  ^ationai  Mumbiji  &.c.  p.  14,  J§. 


CHAP.  XXX.  SOI 

phere.  When,  from  the  expences  of  the  war  entered  into 
by  the  French  government,  in  support  of  American  inde- 
pendence, the  national  debt  of  France  was  swelled  to  an 
exorbitant  height ;  when,  in  consequence  of  this  ill-judged 
interference,  the  provision  for  its  payment  baffled  the  efforts 
of  ministerial  ingenuity,  and  transcended  the  limits  of  or- 
dinary rapacity  ;  the  monarch  and  his  ministers  were  under 
the  mortifving  necessity  of  successively  summoning  the 
assembly  of  the  Notables  and  the  States-General  of  the 
kingdom  ;  and  thus  a  flame  was  involuntarily  lighted  up  by 
them  in  France,  which  all  their  subsequent  exertions  were 
unable  to  smother  and  to  suppress,  and  which  has  remained 
unextinguished,  notwithstanding  the  persevering  hostilities 
of  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  priests,  the  princes,  the 
placemen,  and  the  soldiers,  of  Europe. 

After  introducing  so  many  remarks  on  the  utility  of  the 
monasteries  of  the  West  in  a  literary  view  ;  it  is  proper  for 
me  to  acknowlege,  in  justice  to  the  Greek  exiles  of  Con- 
stantinople, that,  in  the  15th  century,  they  were  very  con- 
spicuous instruments  in  the  revival  of  letters.  But  these 
refugees  were  themselves  greatly  indebted  for  the  portion 
of  knowlege  which  they  possessed  to  the  Grecian  and  Ori- 
ental monasteries,  the  repositories  of  ancient  literature. 
After  *  the  extinction  of  the  schools  of  Alexandria  and 
Athens,  the  studies  of  the  Greeks,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  in- 
sensibly retired  to  some  regular  monasteries,  and  above  all 
to  the  royal  college  of  Constantinople.'  But,  in  the  reign 
of  Leo  the  Isaurian,  the  library,  belonging  to  that  college, 
containing  more  than  36,000  volumes,  was  destroyed  by 
fire  ;  the  college  itself  was  abolished ;  *  and  a  savage  igno- 
rance and  contempt  of  letters — disgraced  the  princes  of  the 
Heraclean  and  Isaurian  dynasties°°.'  It  may  be  added,  that 
the  library  of  the  Greek  emperors,  which  was  afterwards 
collected,  was  secured  by  Mahomet  the  lid,  when  he  ob- 
tained possession  of  the  capital  of  the  Byzantine  monarchy, 
and  that  it  was   destroyed,    according  to   Dr.  Jortin,   by 


80  Gibbon,  vol.  Z.  p.  156. 


302  •  CHAP.  XXX. 

Amurath  the  IVth,  as  late  as  the  seventeenth  dentury^'. 
But  though  the  two  royal  libraries  of  Constantinople  were 
devoted  to  destruction,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that  those* 
of  the  Oriental  monks  were  seldom  violated  by  their  Turk- 
ish masters.  And  this  was  a  circumstance  not  a  little  favor- 
able to  literature. 

Of  the  attempts  made  in  the  Eastern  world  to  obtain  the 
lost  works  of  the  ancients,  one  effort  was  attended  Avith 
such  splendid  success,  as  to  merit  particular  mention.  Janus 
Lascaris,  the  active  missionary  of  Lorenzo  de  Medicis, 
sailed  to  Constantinople  and  the  East  in  search  of  ancient 
manuscripts;  and,  having  the  good  fortune  to  be  assisted 
in  his  researches  by  the  Sultan  Bajazetthe  lid,  he  returned 
to  Italy  with  a  cargo  of  200  manuscripts,  80  of  which  were 
before  unknown  to  Europe.  This  treasure,  we  are  inform- 
ed by  Aldus,  as  quoted  in  a  note  by  Mr.  Gibbon,  was 
found  in  Thrace,  upon  Mount  Athos^S  That  they  were 
discovered  in  some  of  the  monasteries,  which  are  so  thickly 
scattered  in  the  recesses  of  that  mountain*^,  cannot  be 
doubted.  Perhaps,  then,  the  cause  of  literature  is  as  much 
indebted  to  the  monasteries  of  the  East,  as  to  those  of  the 
Western  world. 


81  Rem.  on  Eccl.  Hist.  vol.  IV.  p.  493. 

82  Gibbon,  vol.  XII.  p.  136.  To  the  monks  of  Mount  Athos  Russia 
also  is  indebted  for  the  richest  of  its  literary  treasures.  In  the  library  of 
the  Holy  Sjnod  at  Moscow,  we  are  informed  by  Mr.  Coxe,  thei-e  are  502 
Greek  manuscripts,  of  which  the  greater  part  were  collected  from  one  of 
the  monasteries  of  Mount  Athos,  by  the  monk  Arsenius,  and  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  that  eminent  promoter  of  Russian  literature,  the  pati-iarch 
Nlcon.  Besides  several  important  manuscripts  of  the  Septuagint  and  the 
New  Testament,  there  are  in  this  collection  valuable  manu.scripts  of  Ho- 
mer and  Hesiod,  of  jtschylus  and  Sophocles,  of  Demo.sthenes  and  ^schi- 
nes,  of  Plutai-ch,  Pausanias,  and  Strabo.  It  was  not  till  the  year  1?80,  that 
an  accurate  catalogue  of  these  manuscripts  was  published  at  Petersburgh. 
Travels  into  Poland,  Russia,  &c.  8vo.  vol.  II.  p.  50—54. 

83  In  his  passage  over  Mount  Athos,  which  entirely  belongs  to  the 
Monks,  and  on  that  account  is  called  the  Holy  Mountain  both  by  the  Greeks 
and  the  Turks,  Dr.  Pococke  visited  no  less  than  nineteen  monasteries. 
Descrlpt.  of  the  East,  fol  vol.  II.  part.  II.  p.  144. 


CHAP.  XXX.  303 

It  has  already  been  observed  in  an  extract,  that  of  those 
who  reformed  the  church  some  of  the  most  eminent  be- 
longed to  it.  This,  indeed,  was  the  fact  with  respect  to  all 
the  most  celebrated  of  the  reformers,  unless  perhaps  Me- 
lancthon  be  expected.  Switzerland  produced  Zuinglius  ; 
Bohemia,  John  Huss  ;  Germany,  Bucer,  Oecolampadius, 
■:and  Luther  J  France,  Calvin,  and  Beza  ;  Italy,  Savanarola 
and  Peter  Martyr;  Holland,  Erasmus;  Scotland,  John 
Knox®* ;  and  England,  WicklifFe,  Latimer,  Ridley,  and 
Cranmer.  Now  all  these  had  been  ecclesiastics  in  the 
church  of  Rojne.  To  a  large  proportion  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished authors  of  the  revival  of  letters  the  same  obser- 
vation may  be  extended.  In  the  14th,  15th,  and  16th  centu- 
ries appeared  the  following  eminent  restorers  of  learning 
and  promoters  of  knowlege  ;  and  they  were  all  ecclesiastics, 
either  during  the  whole  or  during  a  part  of  their  lives. 
The  Greek  empire  produced  Theodore  Gaza  and  cardinal 
Bessarion;  Ireland,  archbishop  Usher;  England,  Grocyn, 
Linacer,  cardinal  Wolsey,  and  dean  Colet;  Holland,  Eras- 
mus*' ;  Spain,  Arias  Montanus,  Mariana,  and  cardinal 
Ximnes  ;  Denmark,  Tycho  Brahe ;  Germany,  Copernicus ; 
France,  Vatablus,  Thuanus,  Mark  Anthony  Muretus,  and 
Peiresc ;  and  Italy  gave  birth  to  Petrarch,  Barlaam,  Boc- 
cace,  Hermolaus  Barbaro,  John  of  Ravenna,  Laurentius 
Valla,  Sadolet,  Hieronymus  Vida,  Poggius,  Angelo  Poli- 
tian,  Father  Paul,  Sixtus  the  IV,  and  Leo  the  Xth.  But 
Nicholas  the  Vth  deserves  to  be  separately  noticed.     As  a 


84  The  earl  of  Buchaii,  speaking'  of  Knox's  contemporary  and  country^ 
man  George  Buchanan,  says,  he  was  '  the  father  of  that  system,  which 
will  one  day  verify  the  prophecies  of  the  Chi'istian  scriptures,  to  the 
abasement  of  kings,  and  tlie  desti'uction  of  priestcraft.'  Essays  en  the 
Lives  and  Writings  nf  Fletcher  of  Saltoun  and  the  Poet  Thomson,  p.  33. 

85  After  having  observed,  that  '  the  protection  and  encouragement  the 
Clergy  afforded  to  the  exiled  Greeks'  was  one  of  the  chief  causes,  which 
produced  the  revival  of  learning;''  Warburton,  speaking  of  the  promotion 
of  learning,  says,  there  was  one  among  the  Clergy  in  particular,  meaning- 
Erasmus,  who  did  *  more  la  this  service  than  all  the  Laity  of  that  age 
'ogether.'     Warburton's  Works,  vol.  V.  p.  193. 


304  CHAP.  XXX. 

patron  of  learning,  be  stands  perhaps  unrivalled"*.  *  The 
fame  of  Nicholas  the  fifth  has  not,'  saj's  Mr.  Gibbon, 
'  been  adequate  to  his  merits.  From  a  plebeian  origin,  he 
raised  himself  by  his  virtue  and  learning:  the  character  of 
the  man  prevailed  over  the  interest  of  the  pope ;  and  he 
sharpened  those  weapons  which  were  soon  pointed  against 
the  Roman  church.  He  had  been  the  friend  of  the  most 
eminent  scholars  of  the  age :  he  became  their  patron. — The 
iiifluence  of  the  holy  see  pervaded  Christendom  ;  and  he 
exerted  that  influence  in  the  search,  not  of  benefices,  but 
of  books.  From  the  ruins  of  the  Byzantine  libraries,  from 
the  darkest  monasteries  of  Germany  and  Britain,  he  col- 
l^ected  the  dusty  manuscripts  of  the  writers  of  antiquity  ; 
and  wherever  the  original  could  not  be  removed,  a  faithful 
copy  was  transcribed  and  transmitted  for  his  use.  The 
Vatican,  the  old  repository  for  bulls  and  legands,  for  super- 
stition and  forgery,  was  daily  replenished  with  more  pre- 
cious furniture  ;  and  such  was  the  industry  of  Nicolas,  that 
in  a  reign  of  eight  years  he  formed  a  library  of  five  thou- 
sand volumes.  To  his  munificence,  the  Latin  world  was 
indebted  for  the  versions  of  Xenophon,  Diodorus,  Polybius, 
Thucydides,  Herodotus,  and  Appian ;  of  Strabo's  geogra- 
phy, of  the  Iliad,  of  the  most  valuable  works  of  Plato  and 
Aristotle,  of  Ptolemy  and  Theophrastus,  and  of  the  fathers 
of  the  Greek  church"^.'  That  the  study  of  the  classics  has 
been  eminently  favorable  to  freedom,  cannot  be  doubted. 
*  Before  the  revival  of  classic  literature,  the  barbarians  in 
Europe  were,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  immersed  in  ignorance  ; 
and  their  vulgar  tongues  were  marked  with  the  rudeness 
and  poverty  of  their  manners.  The  students  of  the  more 
perfect  idioms  of  Rome  and  Greece  were  introduced  to  a 
new  world  of  light  and  science  ;  to  the  society  of  the  free 


86  Lord  Bolingbrolce,  speaking-  of  Nicholas  V.  and  other  pontiffs,  says, 
'  the  popes  proved  worse  politicians  than  the  mufties.  The  magicians  them- 
selves broke  the  charm,  bj'  wliich  they  had  bound  mankind  for  so  many 
ages.'     Let.  on  Hist.  1752,  vol.  I.  p.  206. 

87  Vol.  Xn.  p.  134. 


CHAP.    XXX.  305 

and  polished  nations  of  antiquity  ;  and  to  a  familiar  con- 
verse with  those  immortal  men,  who  spoke  the  sublime  lan- 
guage of  eloquence  and  reason.  Such  an  intercourse  must 
tend  to  refine  the  taste,  and  to  elevate  the  genius,  of  the 
moderns.'  For  a  time,  however,  it  produced  only  a  race 
of  imitators.  '  But,  as  soon  as  it  had  been  deeply  satu- 
rated with  the  celestial  dew,  the  soil  was  quickened  into 
vegetation  and  life  ;  the  modern  idioms  were  refined  :  the 
classics  of  Athens  and  Rome  inspired  a  pure  taste  and  a 
generous  emulation  ;  and  in  Italy,  as  afterwards  in  France 
and  England,  the  pleasing  reig-n  of  poetry  and  fiction  was 
succeeded  by  the  light  of  speculative  and  experimental  phi- 
losophy. Genius  may  anticipate  the  season  of  maturity  j 
but  in  the  educaLion  of  a  people,  as  in  that  of  an  individual, 
memory  must  be  exercised,  before  the  powers  of  reason 
and  fancy  can  be  expanded;  nor  may  the  artist  hope  to 
equal  or  surpass,  till  he  has  learned  to  imitate,  the  Avorks 
of  his  predecessors*^' 

After  observing,  that  the  writings  of  the  most  celebrated 
physicians,  philosophers,  and  mathematicians  of  Greece 
were  translated  by  the  Arabs,  and  studied  by  them  with 
ardor  ;  but  that  '  there  is  no  example  of  a  poet,  an  orator, 
or  even  an  historian,  being  taught  to  speak  the  language  of 
the  Saracens  ;'  Mr.  Gibbon  says,  '  The  philosophers  of 
Athens  and  Rome  enjoyed  the  blessings,  and  asserted  the 
rights,  of  civil  and  religious  freedom.  Their  moral  and 
political  writings  might  have  gradually  unlocked  the  fetters 
of  Eastern  despotism®^,  diffused  a  liberal  spirit  of  inquiry 
and  toleration,  and  encouraged  the  Arabian  sages  to  sus- 


88  Vol.  XII.  p.  138. 

89  Hobbes,  in  enumerating'  the  causes  which  excited  such  a  determined 
spirit  of  opposition  atjalnst  Charles  I.  says,  '  there  were  an  exceedin,^ 
great  number  of  men  of  the  better  sort,  that  had  been  so  educated,  as  that 
in  their  youth,  having'  read  the  books  written  by  famous  men  of  the  an- 
cient  Grecian  and  Roman  Common-wealths,  concerning  their  polity  and 
great  actions  ;  in  which  books  the  popular  government  was  extolled  by 
t'lat  glorious  name  of  liberty,  and  monarchy  disgi'aced  by  the  name  oi' 

Vol.  it.  •  '  Q  q  ' 


306  CHAP.    XXX. 

pect,  that  their  caliph  was  a  tyrant,  and  their  prophet  an 
impostor^.' 

But  it  is  proper  to  notice  an  objection  against  Christiauity. 
To  the  spread  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  the  decline  of  learn- 
ing has  in  a  great  degree  been  imputed  ;  and  the  following 
statement,  it  is  probable,  will  appear  to  many  to  contain  a 
formidable  objection  to  the  beneficial  influence  which  has 
been  ascribed  to  it.  At  the  sera  of  the  promulgation  of 
Christianity,  arts,  science,  and  literature  flourished  as  soon 
as  it  was  embraced  by  a  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Roman  world,  they  drooped  and  declined.  But  the 
fact  is,  that  the  great  causes  which  produced  the  decline  ot 
learning  were  entirely  unconnected  with  the  propagation  of 
our  religion  ;  and  there  is  a  known  cause,  totally  indepen- 
dent of  Christianity,  to  which  we  may  justly  attribute  the 
danger  it  afterwards  experienced  of  total  extinctio7't^n?ca~\G\Y, 
the  irruption  of  the  barbarous  nations. 

As  this  objection  is  not  destitute  of  plausibility,  and  is 
so  injurious  to  Christianity,  some  extracts  shall  be  intro- 
duced of  a  considerable  length,  which  contain  a  reply  to  it. 

Christianity^,  depressed  and  persecuted  in  the  three  first 
centuries,  and  the  beginning  of  the  fourth,  cannot  be  sup- 
posed, at  that  time,  to  have  had  much  influence  in  checking 
the  attainment  of  useful  knowlege,  and  the  prosecution 
of  scientific  pursuits,  among  the  learned  Pagans,  or  to  have 
accelerated  among  them  the  decay  of  the  arts  and  the  de- 
cline of  taste.  Now  an  appeal  to  authentic  history,  and  an 
examination  of  the  writers  of  the  time,  will  inform  us,  as  a 
matter  which  admits  not  of  the  smallest  dispute,  that  the 
arts  and  literature  and  public  taste  were  all  greatly  on  the 
decline,  antecedently  to  the  toleration  of  Christianity  ;  and 
that  the  fatal  causes  were  already  begun  powerfully  to  ope- 
rate, which  were  destined  to   subvert  the    Roman   empire, 

tp-anny,  they  became  thei-eby  in  love  with  theii*  forms  of  government.'  Be- 
licinoth,  the  Hist,  of  the  Causes  'of  the  Civil  Wars  of  EnglanJ,  1682, />■  5. 

90  Vol.  X.  p.  51.     *  The  age  of  Arabian  learning  continued  about  SCO 
years,  till  the  great  eruption  of  tlie  Moguls.'     p.  44. 


CHAP.  XXX.  30r 

and  to  open  a  way  for  the  admission  of  the  savage  con- 
querors of  Scandinavia  and  Scythia,  and  for  the  consequetit 
establishment  of  ignorance  and  barbarism. 

The  immortal  writers  of  Greece  and  Rome,  it  should  be 
remembered,  had  been  educated,  either  under  the  free 
spirit  of  Republican  governments,  or  a  short  time  after  the 
everthroxv  of  liberty^  when  the  maxims  and  the  institu- 
tions, v\-hen  the  freedom  of  inquiry  and  the  ardor  of  curi- 
osity, which  it  had  created,  still  continued  to  subsist,  and 
were  productive  of  the  happiest  effects. 

The  following  quotations,  at  the  same  time  that  they  dis- 
prove the  forecited  objection,  will  disclose  both  the  radical 
and  the  immediate  causes  of  the  decline  and  dissolution  of 
the  Roman  empire,  one  of  the  most  interesting  objects  of 
historic  research.  I  have,  also,  been  the  less  disposed  to 
curtail  them,  because  they  display,  with  the  greatest  strength 
of  evidence,  the  mighty  evils  which  inevitably  flow  from 
despotism,  whatever  be  the  personal  character  of  the  prince 
who  is  invested  with  government. 

The  reign  of  Trajan  commenced  A.  D.  98 :  that  of  the 
younger  Antonine  ended  A.  D.  180.  In  describing  their 
reigns,  and  those  of  the  intervening  princes,.  Hadrian  and 
the  elder  Antonine,  Mr.  Gibbon  says,  '  it  was  scarcely  pos- 
sible that  the  eyes  of  contemporaries  should  discover  in  the 
public  felicity  the  latent  causes  of  decay  and  corruption.' 
The  '  long  peace,  and  the  uniform  government  of  the  Ro- 
mans, introduced  a  slow  and  secret  poison  into  the  vitals  of 
the  empire.  The  minds  of  men  were  gradually  reduced  to 
the  same  level,  the  fire  of  genius  was  extinguished,  and 
even  the  military  spirit  evaporated. — The  most  liberal  re- 
wards sought  out  the  faintest  glimmerings  of  literary  merit.' 
Yet,  '  if  we  accept  the  inimitable  Lucian,  an  age  of  indo- 
lence passed  away  without  producing  a  single  writer  of  ge- 
nius who  deserved  the  attention  of  posterity. — The  beauties 
of  the  poets  and  orators,  instead  of  kindling  a  fire  like  their 
own,  inspired  only  cold  and  servile  imitations  :  or,  if  any 
ventured  to  deviate  from  those  models,  they  deviated  at 


308  CHAP.    XXX. 

the  same  time  from  good  sense  and  propriety.  The  name 
of  poet  was  almost  forgotten  ;  that  of  orator  was  usurped 
by  the  s6phists.  A  cloud  of  critics,  of  compilers,  of  com- 
mentators, darkened  the  face  of  learning,  and  the  decline 
of  genius  was  soon  followed  by  the  corruption  of  taste.' 

Seventeen  years  after  the  death  of  the  j^ounger  Anto- 
nine,  Sevtrus  was  acknowleged  emperor  of  the  Roman 
world.  '  By  gratitude,  by  misguided  policy,  by  seeming 
necessity,  Severus  was  induced  to  relax  the  nerves  of  dis- 
cipline. The  vanity  of  his  soldiers  was  flattered  with  the 
honor  of  wearing  gold  rings  ;  their  ease  indulged  in  the 
permission  of  living  with  their  wives  in  the  idleness  of 
quarters.  He  inci-cased  their  pay  beyond  the  example  of 
former  times,  and  taught  them  to  expect,  and  soon  to  claim, 
extraordinary  donatives  on  every  public  occasion  of  danger 
or  festivity.  Elated  by  success,  enervated  by  luxury,  and 
raised  above  the  level  of  subjects  by  their  dangerous  pri- 
vileges, they  soon  became  incapable  of  military  fatigue, 
oppressive  to  the  country,  and  impatient  of  a  just  subor- 
dination.—Posterity,  who  experienced  the  fatal  effects  of 
his  maxims  and  example,  justly  considered'  Severus  '  as 
the  principal  author  of  the  decline  of  the  Roman  empire.' 

In  delineating  the  administration  of  Caracalla,  the  son 
of  Severus,  the  historian  says,  the  successive  augmenta- 
tions of  the  pay  of  the  soldiers  '  ruined  the  empire,  for 
with  the  soldier's  pay  their  numbers  too  were  increased. — 
As  long  as  Rome  and  Italv  were  respected  as  the  center  of 
government,  a  national  spirit  was  preserved  by  the  ancient, 
and  insensibly  imbibed  by  the  adopted,  citizens.  The  prin- 
cipal commands  of  the  anr.y  wei-e  filled  by  men,  who  had 
received  a  liberal  education,  were  well  instructed  in  the 
advantages  of  laws  and  letters,  and  who  had  risen,  by  equal 
steps,  through  die  regular  succession  of  civil  and  military 
honors.  To  their  influence  and  example  we  may  partly 
ascribe  the  modest  obedience  of  the  legions  during  the  two 
first  centuries  of  the  imperial  history.  But,  when  the  last 
enclosure  of  the  Roman  constitution  was  trampled  down  by 


CHAP.  XXX.  309 

Caracalla, — the  rougher  trade  of  arms  was  abandoned  to 
the  peasants  and  barbarians  of  the  frontiers,  who  knew  no 
country  but  their  camp,  no  science  but  that  of  war,  no  civil 
laws,  and  scarcely  those  of  military  discipline.  With  bloody 
hands,  savage  manners,  and  desperate  resolutions,  they 
sometimes  guarded,  but  much  oftener  subverted,  the  throne 
of  the  emperors.' 

'  The  last  three  hundred  years,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  he 
is  speaking  of  the  year  248,  '  had  been  consumed  in  appa- 
rent prosperity  and  internal  decline.  The  nation  of  sol- 
diers, magistrates,  and  legislators,  who  composed  the  thirty- 
five  tribes  of  the  Roman  people,  was  dissolved  into  the 
common  mass  of  mankind,-  and  confounded  with  the  mil- 
lions of  servile  provincials,  who  had  received  the  name, 
^without  adopting  the  spirit,  of  Romans. — To  the  undiscern- 
ing  eye  of  the  vulgar,  Philip  appeared  a  monarch  no  less 
powerful  than  Hadrian  or  Augustus  had  formerly  been. 
The  form  was  still  the  same,  but  the  animating  health  and 
vigor  were  fied.  The  industry  of  the  people  was  discou- 
3-aged  and  exhausted  by  a  long  series  of  oppression.  The 
discipline  of  the  legions,  which  alone  ;  after  the  extinction 
of  every  other  virtue,  had  propped  the  greatness  of  the  state, 
was  corrupted  by  the  ambition,  or  relaxed  by  the  weakness, 
of  the  emperors.  The  strength  of  the  frontiers,  which  had 
always  consisted  in  arms  rather  than  in  fortifications,  was 
insensibly  undermined;  and  the  fairest  provinces  were  left 
exposed  to  the  rapaciousness  or  ambition  of  the  Barbarians, 
Avho  soon  discovered  the  decline  of  the  Roman  empire.' 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  empire  in  the  year  248,  when 
the  great  secular  games  were  solemnized  by  Philip.  But 
far  worse  was  the  situation  into  which  it  was  plunged  im- 
mediately subsequent  to  that  year.  From  this  celebration 
of  the  secular  games,  says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  to  the  death  of 
the  emperor  Gallienus,  there  elapsed  twenty  years  of  shame 
and  misfortune.  During  that  calamitous  period,  every  in- 
stant of  time  was  marked,  every  province  of  the  Roman 
world    was   afflicted,  by  barbarous   invaders  and  military 


310  CHAP.    XXX. 

tyrants,  and  the  ruined  empire  seemed  to  approach  the  last 
and  fatal  moment  of  its  dissolution.'  The  distracted  reign 
of  Gallienus  produced  no  less  than  nineteen  pretenders  to 
the  throne.  '  The  election  of  these  precarious  emperors, 
their  power  and  their  death,  Vi-ere  equally  destructive  to 
their  subjects  and  adherents.  The  price  of  their  fatal  ele- 
vation was  instantly  discharged  to  the  troops,  by  an  im- 
mense donative,  drawn  from  the  bowels  of  the  exhausted 
people.  However  virtuous  was  their  character,  however 
pure  their  intentions,  they  found  themselves  reduced  to  the 
hard  necessity  of  supporting  their  usurpations  by  frequent 
acts  of  rapine  and  cruelty.  When  they  fell,  they  involved 
armies  and  provinces  in  their  fall.'  The  bravest  usurpers 
also  *  Avere  compelled  by  the  perplexity  of  their  situation, 
to  conclude  ignominious  treaties  with  the  common  enemy, 
to  purchase  with  oppressive  tributes  the  neutrality  or  ser- 
vices of  the  Barbarians,  and  to  introduce  hostile  and  inde- 
pendent nations  into  the  heart  of  the  Roman  monarchy.' 

*  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  add,'  says  Mr.  Gibbon, 
speaking  of  a  somewhat  later  period,  of  the  sera  of  the  ab- 
dication of  Dioclesian,  '  that  the  civil  distractions  of  the 
empire,  the  licence  of  the  soldiers,  the  inroads  of  the  Bar- 
barians, and  the  progress  of  despotism,  had  proved  very 
unfavorable  to  genius  and  even  to  learning.  The  succes- 
sion of  Illyrian  princes  restored  the  empire,  without  restor- 
ing the  sciences. — The  voice  of  poetry  was  silent.  History 
was  reduced  to  dry  and  confused  abridgments,  alike  desti- 
tute of  amusement  and  instruction.  A  languid  and  affected 
eloquence  was  still  retained  in  the  pay  and  service  of  the 
emperors,  who  encouraged  not  any  arts,  except  those  which 
contributed  to  the  gratification  of  their  pride,  or  the  defence 
of  their  power.' 

That  the  fine  arts  were  in  a  fidlen  state  during  the  reign 
of  Dioclesian,  and  at  the  elevation  of  Constantine,  the  fol- 
lowing observations  \v\\\  prove.  Mr.  Gibbon,  speaking  of 
the  magnificent  palace  of  the  former  of  those  princes,  says, 


CHAP.    XXX.  311 

we  are  informed,  by  a  '■  recent  and  very  judicious  traveller^', 
that  the  awful  ruins  of  Spalatro  are  not  Itrss  expressive  of 
the  decline  of  the  arts,  than  of  the  grtamcss  of  the  Roman 
empire,  in  the  time  of  Dioclesian.'  And  the  triumphal 
arch  of  Constantine,  raised  on  account  of  the  victory  which 
he  gained  over  Maxentius  in  the  year  312,  '  still  remains  a 
melancholy  proof  of  the  decline  of  the  arts,  and  a  singular 
testimony  of  the  meanest  vanity.  As  it  was  not  possible  to 
find  in  the  capital  of  the  empire  a  sculptor,  who  was  capa- 
ble of  adorning  that  public  monument ;  the  arch  of  Trajan, 
without  any  respect  either  for  his  memory  or  for  the  rules 
of  propriety,  was  stripped  of  its  most  elegant  figures. — 
The  new  ornaments,  which  it  was  necessary  to  introduce 
between  the  vacancies  of  ancient  sculpture,  are  executed  in 
the  rudest  and  most  unskilful  manner^".' 

There  is  also  another  cause,  not  yet  alluded  to,  but  per- 
haps deserving  of  notice,  which  discouraged  the  pursuit  of 
knowlege,  and  promoted  the  destruction  of  books.  '  About 
the  beginning  of  the  sexond  century,'  sayp  Dr.  Enfield, 
*  astrologers,  Chaldeans,  and  other  diviners,  disgraced  the 
profession  of  philosophy  by  assuming  the  title  of  mathema- 
ticians. By  this  name  they  were  commonly  known,  and 
this  signification  of  the  term  was  in  general  use  for  several 
centuries.  In  the  Justinian  code  we  find  a  chapter  under 
this  title.  De  Maleficis  ct  3Iatfiematicis^  "  On  Sorcerers 
and  Mathematicians  :"  and  one  book  of  the  Thedosian  code 
prescribes  the  banishment  of  mathematicians  out  of  Rome, 
and  all  the  Roman  cities,  and  the  burning  of  their  books. 
Impostors,  who  passed  under  this  appellation,  rendered 
themselves  exceedingly  obnoxious  to  pi-inces  and  statesmen 
by  the  influence  whltch  their  arts  gave  them  over  the  minds 
of  the  vulgar;  and  it  was  thought  necessary,  for  the  safet}' 
of  the  state,  to  subject  them  to  rigorous  penalties'^' 


91  The  abate  Fortis  fViag^io  in  Dahnazia). 

92  l<ecl.  ar.d   Fall  of  the  Rom.  Emp.  8vo.  vol.  1.  p.  90,  19B,  20,3,221, 
268,  313,  84,  415,  449,  451 ;  vol.  II.  p.  181,  234 

93  Hist,  of  Philosophy,  vol,  II.  p,  328. 


312  CHAP.    XXX, 

Those  frivolous  studies,  and  those  perplexing  inquiries, 
in  which  such  multitudes  engaged  during  the  fourth  and  so 
many  succeeding  centuries,  have  been  falsely  attributed  to 
the  genius  of  Christianity  and  to  the  New  Testament.  But 
it  holds  out  no  encouragement  to  the  prosecution  of  such 
questions.  Accordingly  they  may  fairly  be  attributed  to 
that  decline  of  learning,  and  that  prevalence  of  false  taste, 
which  have,  in  a  considerable  degree,  been  accounted  for 
in  the  preceding  extracts  ;  and  a  very  large  proportion  of 
those  fruitless  disputations  and  intricate  subtelties,  which 
occasioned  so  great  a  waste  of  time  and  intellect,  did  im- 
mediately result  from  the  fashionable  treatises  on  logic  and 
metaphysics,  and  particularly  from  the  perusal  of  Plato  and 
Aristotle,  and  the  numerous  commentators  written  upon 
them  in  the  Greek,  the  Latin,  and  the  Arabic  tongues. 
As  theologians  were  almost  the  only  persons  who  applied 
to  letters,  of  course  it  was  from  theology  that  many  of  their 
speculations  were  derived.  To  have  prevented  this,  a  per- 
petual miracle  must,  indeed,  have  been  exerted  ;  and,  if 
Christianity  had  not  existed,  an  infinite  number  of  idle  dis- 
quisitions would  have  been  deduced  from  the  writings, 
whatever  they  might  be,  in  v.  hich  the  reigning  religion  was 
deposited^'*. 

It  was  not  to  the  religion  of  Jesus  that  the  fondness  for 
obstruse  speculations  owed  its  growth.  It  was  the  fault  of 
the  times.  It  operated  upon  men  of  every  sentiment.  For 
some  time  antecedent  to  the  establishment  of  Christianity, 
it  was  carried  to  a  greater  height  in  the  schools  of  the  phi- 
losophers than  among  the  fathers  of  the  church.  '  The  de- 
clining age  of  learning  and  of  mankind  is  marked,'  says 
Mr.  Gibbon  (he  is  speaking  of  the  period  which  preceded 
the  abdication  of  Dioclesian),  bv  the  rise  and  rapid  progress 
of  the  new  Platonicians.    The  school  of  Alexandria  silenced 


94  '  The  Musulmans,'  says  Volney,  enemerate  *  sevciity-two  sects :  but 
I  read,  while  I  resided  among  them,  a  wdrk  which  gave  an  accomit  of 
more  than  eighty.'  Volney's  Ruins  ;  or  a  Survey  of  the  Revoltdionn  of  Em- 
pires,  p.  343. 


CHAP.  XXX.  313 

those  of  Athens;  and  the  ancient  sects  enrolled  themselves 
under  the  banners  of  the  more  fashionable  teachers,  who 
recommended  their  system  by  the  novelty  of  their  method 
and  the  austerity  of  their  manners.  Several  of  these  mas- 
ters, Amm6nius,  Plotinus,  Amelius,  and  Porphyry,  were 
men  of  profound  thought  and  intense  application ;  but,  by 
mistaking  the  true  object  of  philosophy,  their  labors  con- 
tributed much  less  to  improve,  than  to  corrupt,  the  human 
understanding.  The  knovvlege  that  is  suited  to  our  situation 
and  powers,  the  whole  compass  of  moral,  natural,  and  ma- 
thematical science,  was  neglected  by  the  new  Platonicians  *. 
whilst  they  exhausted  their  strength  in  the  verbal  disputes 
of  metaphysics,  attempted  to  explore  the  secrets  of  the  in- 
visible world,  and  studied  to  reconcile  Aristotle  with  Plato, 
on  subjects  of  which  both  these  philosophers  were  as  igno- 
rant as  the  rest  of  mankind'^'  The  minds  of  the  philoso- 
phers of  this  and  of  a  somewhat  later  period  were  likewise 
darkened  by  the  illusions  of  fanaticism^^  They  abused, 
says  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  the  superstitious  credulity  of  mankind;' 
and  the  Grecian  mysteries  were  supported  by  the  magic  or 
theurgy  of  the  modern  Platonists.  They  arrogantly  pre- 
tended to  controul  the  order  of  nature,  to  explore  the 
secrets  of  futurity,  to  command  the  service  of  the  inferior 
daemons,  to  enjoy  the  view  and  conversation  of  the  superior 
Gods,  and,  by  disengaging  the  soul  from  her  material  bands, 
to  re-unite  that  immortal  particle  with  the  Infinite  and  Di- 
vine mind^^.' 

As  barbarism  advanced,  and  the  knowlege  of  almost  all 
the  illustrious  writers  of  antiquity  was  gradually  lost,  the 
pretended  votaries  of  philosophy  were  more  and  more 
benighted  in  the  clouds  of  metaphysics^^  and  pursued  it9 


95  Vol.  II.  p.  182. 

96  See  Dr.  Enfield's  Hist,  of  Phllosopln-,  vol.  II.  p.  63—101. 

97  Vol.  IV.  p.  74. 

98  The  metaphysical  disputants  of  the  middle  ages,  it  may,  however,  be 
observed,  surpassed  not  the  Pagan  Platonists  in  obscurity.  Dr.  Priestley, 
indeed,  speaking  of  them,  and  particularly  of  Proclus,  Plctlnus,  and  Jamb- 

Vol.  II.  R  r 


314  CHAP.  XXX. 

fleeting  shadows  with  growing  eagerness.  '  The  general 
prevalence  of  this  taste  for  subtle  speculations,  among  the 
Scholastics,  is,'  says  Dr.  Enfield,  '  certainly  to  be  account- 
ed for,  chiefly  from  the  want  of  more  important  objects  to 
occupy  the  leisure  of  monastic  life,  and  to  furnish  occasions 
of  generous  and  useful  emulation  among  those  who  devoted 
their  days  to  study.  But  the  particular  direction  which 
this  idle  humor  took  was  owing  to  the  universal  authority, 
which,  after  Augustine,  Aristotle — by  degrees  acquired  in 
the  Christian  schools.  The  reverence,  almost  religious,  Avhich 
the  Scholastics  paid  to  the  Stagyrite,  naturally  led  them  to 
follow  implicitly  his  method  of  philosophising,  and  to  em- 
brace his  opinions,  as  far  as  they  were  able  to  discover 
them.  "  There  are,"  says  Vives,  "  both  philosophers  and 
divines,  who  not  only  say,  that  Aristotle  reached  the  utmost 
boundaries  of  science,  but  that  his  syllogistic  method  of 
reasoning  is  the  most  direct  and  certain  path  to  knowlege  ; 
a  presumption,  which  has  led  us  to  receive,  upon  the  au- 
thority of  Aristotle,  many  tenets  as  fully  known  and  esta- 
blished, which  are  by  no  means  such  j  for  why  should  we 
fatigue  ourselves  with  farther  inquiry,  when  it  is  agreed 
that  nothing  can  be  discovered  beyond  what  may  be  found 
in  his  writings.  Hence  has  sprung  up  in  the  mind  of  man 
an  incredible  degree  of  indolence;  so  that  every  one  thinks 
it  safest  and  most  pleasant  to  see  with  another's  eyes,  and 
believe  with  another's  faith,  and  to  examine  nothing  for 
himself."  There  cannot  be  a  clearer  proof  of  the  extrava- 
gant height  to  which  this  AptiereMfMcvix^  rage  for  Aristotle, 
was  carried,  than  the  fact  complained  of  by  Melancthon, 
that  in  sacred  assemblies  the  ethics  of  Aristotle  were  read 
to  the  people  instead  of  the  gospeP^.' 


lichus,  says,  '  the  writings  of  the  schoolmen^  which  have  been  so  much 
ridiculed,  on  account  of  their  obscurity,  and  idle  distinctions,  are  day-lig-hl 
compared  to  those  of  these  Platonists.'     Hist,  of  the  Early  Opinions  c(wi. 
cerning  Jesus  Christ,  vol.  I.  p.  399. 
99  Hist,  of  Philosophy,  vol  II.  p.  .-JSP 


6HAP.  XXX.  315 

From  these  facts  and  these  observations  k  does,  then, 
appear,  that  the  decline  of  knowlege,  and  the  progress  of  a 
vitiated  taste,  are  to  be  ascribed  to  causes,  altogether  dif- 
ferent from  the  publication  and  the  spread  of  Christianity. 

It  has  been  asserted,  that  this  religion,  by  rendering  men 
more  virtuous  and  benevolent  than  they  otherwise  would 
have  been,  has  at  the  same  time  prepared  their  minds,  for 
making  substantial  sacrifices  in  behalf  of  mankind,  and  for 
feeling  a  fixed  detestation  of  every  system  of  political  op- 
pression and  injustice.  A  few  extracts  and  remarks,  rela- 
tive to  the  influence  it  has  had  upon  morals,  shall,  therefore, 
be  introduced. 

That  Christianity,  at  the  sera  of  its  promulgation,  pro- 
duced the  most  excellent  effects  on  the  lives  of  its  profes- 
sors, that  it  altered,  greatly  and  beyond  all  former  example 
the  characters  of  millions,  and  that  it  occasioned  the  growth 
of  the  most  permanent  and  most  exalted  virtues,  every 
man,  who  has  studied  the  early  part  of  ecclesiastical  history, 
is  perfectly  apprised'"*.     On  this  point  there  is  no  contro- 

100  Christ's  disciples,  says  a  learned  inquirer  into  ecclesiastical  history, 
were  examples  of  fervent  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  mankind,  of  an  inoffen- 
sive behaviour,  of  disinterestedness  and  self-denial,  of  indefatigable  in- 
dustry, of  the  most  extensive  charity,  of  patience  and  courage  and  con- 
stancy, and  of  a  regular  practice  of  all  that  they  taught.  The  first  Chris- 
tians resembled  their  teachers  in  these  good  qualities>  and  it  was  no 
small  advantage  to  them  In  their  apologies  for  themselves  and  tlieir  reli- 
gion to  be  able  to  appeal  boldly  to  their  innocence  and  integrity.  That 
we  may  have  a  right  sense  of  this,  we  should  consider  what  it  was  to  be 
a  Christian  in  those  days,  lest  we  be  deceived  by  the  vulgar  use  of  the 
word,  and  by  the  notion  which  we  at  present  entertaiii  about  it.  To  be 
a  Christian  at  that  time  was  to  be  an  example  of  well-tried  virtue,  of  true 
wisdom,  and  of  consummate  fortitude  ;  for  he  surely  deserves  the  name 
of  a  great  and  a  good  man,  who  sei-ves  God,  and  is  a  friend  to  mankind, 
and  receives  the  most  ungrateful  returns  from  the  world,  and  endure^ 
them  with  a  calm  and  composed  mind,  who  dares  look  scorn  and  infamy 
and  death  in  the  face,  who  can  stand  forth  unmoved  and  patiently  bear  to 
be  derided  as  a  fool  and  an  ideot,  to  be  pointed  out  for  a  madman  and  an 
enthusiast,  to  be  reviled  as  an  atheist  and  an  enemy  to  all  righteousness, 
to  be  punished  as  a  robber  and  a  murderer.  He  who  can  pass  through 
these  trials  is  a  conqueror  indeed,  and  what  the  world  calls  courage 
scarce  deserves  that  name,  when  compared  to  tlils  btihaviour.'  Jortin's 
Disc,  on  the  Tr.  of  the  Chr.  Rcl  p.  113. 


316  -  CHAP.  XXX. 

veisy.  But,  in  each  following  age,  the  religion  of  Jesus, 
being  united  by  a  forced  alliance  to  the  state,  and,  from  the 
thirst  of  gain,  the  lust  of  power,  and  the  prevalence  of 
fanaticism,  being  grossly  perverted  in  its  doctrines  and  its 
precepts ;  it  has,  as  might  be  expected,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, had  its  energies  enfeebled ;  and  has  not  pro- 
duced those  extensive  and  magnificent  revolutions  in  the 
moral  world,  which  seemed  to  have  been  promised  and  en- 
sured by  the  sti*ength  of  its  proofs,  the  clearness  of  its  laws, 
and  the  weight  of  its  sanctions.  But,  depressed  and  dis- 
guised as  it  has  been,  destitute  till  the  loth  century  of  the 
important  aid  it  would  have  derived  from  the  art  of  print- 
ing, and  for  a  longtime  locked  up  in  an  unknown  tongue,  it 
has,  under  all  this  opprobrium  and  under  all  these  disadvan- 
tages, had  a  very  powerful  effect  in  promoting  purity  of 
heart  and  rectitude  of  conduct. 

*  Christianity,'  says  archdeacon  Paley,  '  in  every  country 
in  which  it  is  professed,  hath  obtained  a  sensible  although 
not  a  complete  influence,  upon  the  public  judgment  of  mo- 
rals. And  this  is  very  important.  For,  without  the  occa- 
sional correction  which  public  opinion  receives,  by  refer- 
ring to  some  fixed  standard  of  morality,  no  man  can  fore- 
tell into  what  extravagancies  it  might  wander. — In  this  way, 
it  is  possible,  that  many  may  be  kept  in  order  by  Christi- 
anity, who  are  not  themselves  Christians.  They  may  be 
guided  by  the  rectitude  which  it  communicates  to  public 
opinion.  Their  consciences  may  suggest  their  duty  truly, 
and  they  may  ascribe  these  suggestions  to  a  moral  sense,  or 
to  the  native  capacity  of  the  human  intellect,  Avhen  in  fact 
they  are  nothing  more,  than  the  public  opinion  reflected 
from  their  own  minds  ;  an  opinion,  in  a  considerable  de- 
gree, modified  by  the  lessons  of  Christianity.' 

The  influence  of  this  religion  '  must  be  perceived,  if 
perceived  at  all,  in  the  silent  course  of  private  and  domestic 
life.  Nay  more  ;  even  there  its  influence  may  not  be  very 
obvious  to  observation.  If  it  check,  in  some  degree,  per- 
sonal dissoluteness,  if  it  beget  a  general  probity  in  the 
transaction  of  business,  if  it  produce  soft  and  humane  man- 


CHAP.   XXX..  317 

ners  in  the  mass  of  the  community  and  occasional  exertions 
of  laborious  or  expensive  benevolence  in  a  few  individuals, 
it  is  all  the  effect  which  can  ofter  itself  to  external  notice. 
The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  within  us.  That  which  is  the 
substance  of  the  religion,  its  .hopes  and  consolations,  its 
intei-mixture  with  the  thoughts  by  day  and  by  night,  the 
devotion  of  the  heart,  the  control  of  appetite,  the  steady 
direction  of  the  will  to  the  commands  of  God,  is  necessarily 
invisible.  Yet  upon  these  depend  the  virtue  and  the  happi- 
ness of  millions.  This  cause  renders  the  representations 
of  historv,  with  respect  to  religion,  defective  aiid  fallaci- 
ous, in  a  gi'eater  degree  than  they  are  upon  any  other  sub- 
ject. Religion  operates  most  upon  those  of  whom  history 
knows  the  least ;  upon  fathers  and  mothers  in  their  families, 
upon  men  servants  and  maid  servants,  upon  the  orderly 
tradesman,  the  quiet  villager,  the  manufacturer  at  his  loom, 
the  husbandman  in  his  fields.  Amongst  such  its  influence 
collectively  may  be  of  inestimable  value,  yet  its  effects  in 
the  mean  time  little  upon  those,  who  figure  upon  the  stage 
of  the  world.  They  may  know  nothing  of  it ;  they  may 
believe  nothing  of  it  ;  they  may  be  actuated  by  motives 
more  impetuous  than  those  which  religion  is  able  to  excite. 
It  cannot,  therefore,  be  thought  strange,  that  this  influence 
should  elude  the  grasp  and  touch  of  public  history ;  for 
what  is  public  history,  but  a  register  of  the  successes  and 
disappointments,  the  vices,  the  follies,  and  the  quarrels,  of 
those  who  engage  in  contentions  for  power  ''^  ? 

After  quoting  this  passage,  I  would  briefly  observe,  that 
the  observations,  contained  in  the  three  last  sentences  of 
the  archdeacon,  are  perfectly  true  with  respect  to  the  ordi- 
nary transactions  registered  in  historic  annals,  but  apply  not 
to  a  great  national  revolution,  undertaken  against  civil  tyran- 
ny, and  in  vindication  of  the  rights  of  man.  In  the  ac- 
complishment of  such  an  event,  the  principles  of  Christi- 
anity cannot  but  operate,  though  they  may,  indeed,  secretly 
operate.     For  by  whom  is  such  a  revolution  eftected  ?    Not 


101  Evld  of  Clir.  2  ed.  vol.  11.  p.  376,- 382 


ol8  CHAP.  XXX. 

by  mere  men  of  ambition ;  not  by  thut  class  of  persons, 
who  commonly  figure  upon  the  stage  of  the  world  ;  not  by 
the  venality  of  mercenary  senators  and  the  blind  obedience 
of  mercenary  soldiers.  That  mighty  change,  which  termi- 
nates in  the  overthrow  of  tyranny,  and  the  restoration  of  a 
people  to  their  rights,  must  be  undertaken  by  the  farmer, 
the  tradesman,  and  the  manufacturer,  and  particularly  by 
those  who  constitute  the  middle  ranks  of  society,  that  is  to 
say,  bv  those  very  persons  Avho  are  most  attentive  to  the 
duties,  and  best  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  religion. 

Nor  has  the  religion  of  Jesus  operated  beneficially, 
merely  in  the  preservation  of  literature,  and  in  the  promo- 
tion of  virtuous  morals  in  private  life.  Its  effects  have  ex- 
tended farther.  It  has  had  a  sensible  influence  on  laws  and 
public  institutions. 

But  as  it  hath  likewise  been  objected  against  Christianity, 
that  it  has  been  the  frequent  cause  of  persecuting  statutes 
and  destructive  wars,  it  is  proper,  previously  to  an  enume- 
ration of  the  benefits  it  has  produced,  to  introduce  an  ex- 
tract in  reply  to  this  objection;  and  to  consider  whether  it 
has  been  the  proper  and  primarv  causes  of  events  which 
ought  so  sincerely  to  be  deplored.  '  Christianity,'  says 
archdeacon  Paley,  '  is  charged  with  many  consequences  for 
which  it  is  not  responsible.  I  believe,  that  religious  mo- 
tives have  had  no  more  to  do,  in  the  formation  of  nine- 
tentJis  of  the  intolerant  and  persecuting  laws,  which  in  dif- 
ferent countries  have  been  established  upon  the  subject  of 
religion,  than  they  have  had  to  do  in  England  with  the 
making  of  the  game  laws.  These  measures,  although  they 
have  the  Christian  religion  for  their  subject,  are  resolvable 
into  a  principle,  which  Christianity  certainly  did  not  plant 
(and  which  Christianity  could  not  universally  condemn,  be- 
cause it  is  not  universally  wrong),  which  principle  is  no 
other  than  this,  that  they  who  are  in  possession  of  power  do 
what  they  can  to  keep  it.  Christianity  is  answerable  for  no 
part  of  the  mischief,  which  has  been  brought  upon  the 
world  by  persecution,  except  that  which  has  arisen  from 
(^onsciejitlous  persecutors.     Now  these  perhaps  have  never 


CHAP.    XXX.  319 

been,  either  numerous,  or  powerful.  Nor  is  it  to  Christi-^ 
anity  that  even  their  mistake  can  fairly  be  imputed.  They 
have  been  misled  by  an  error,  not  properly  Christian  or 
religious,  but  by  an  error  in  their  moral  philosophy.  They 
pursued  the  particular,  without  adverting  to  the  general, 
consequence.  Believing  certain  articles  of  faith,  or  a  cer- 
tain mode  of  worship,  to  be  highly  conducive,  or  perhaps 
essential,  to  salvation,  they  thought  themselves  bound  to 
bring  all  they  could,  by  every  means,  into  them.  And  this 
they  thought,  without  considering  what  would  be  the  effect 
of  such  a  conclusion,  when  adopted  amongst  mankind  as  a 
general  rule  of  conduct.  Had  there  been  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, what  there  are  in  the  Koran,  precepts  authorising 
coercion  in  the  propagation  of  the  religion,  and  the  use  of 
violence  towards  unbelievers,  the  case  would  have  been 
different.  This  distinction  could  not  have  been  taken,  or 
this  defence  made. — If  it  be  objected,  as  I  apprehend  it  will 
be,  that  Christianity  is  chargeable  with  every  mischief,  of 
which  it  has  been  the  occasion^  though  not  the  motive;  I 
answer,  that,  if  the  malevolent  passions  be  there,  the 
world  will  never  want  occasions.  The  noxious  element 
will  alwaj^s  find  a  conductor.  Any  point  will  produce  an 
explosion.  Did  the  applauded  intercommunity  of  the  Pagan 
theology  preserve  the  peace  of  the  Roman  world  ?  Did  it 
prevent  oppressions,  prescriptions,  massacres,  devastations  ? 
Was  it  bigotry  that  candied  Alexander  into  the  East,  or 
brought  Caesar  into  Gaul  ?  Are  the  nations  of  the  Av^orld, 
into  which  Christianity  hath  not  found  its  way,  or  from 
which  it  hath  been  banished,  free  from  contentions  ?  Are 
their  contentions  less  ruinous  and  sanguinary  ?  It  is  owing 
to  Christianity,  or  to  the  want  of  it,  that  the  finest  regions 
of  the  East,  the  countries  inter  qxiatuor  maria^  the  penin- 
sula of  Greece,  together  with  a  great  part  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean coast,  are  at  this  day  a  desait  ?  or  that  the  banks  of 
the  Nile,  whose  constantly  renewed  fertility  is  not  to  be 
impaired  by  neglect,  nor  destroyed  by  the  ravages  of  v/ar. 
serve  only  for  the  scene  of  a  ferocious  anarchy,  6y  the  sup- 


320  CHAP.    XXX. 

ply  of  unceasing  hostilities  ?  Europe  itself  has  known  no 
religious  wars  for  some  centuries,  yet  has  hardly  ever  been 
without  war"^.' 

Besides,  it  was  during  the  dark  ages,  and  particularly  in 
the  early  part  of  the  13th  century,  that  persecution  was  car- 
ried on  with  the  greatest  violence,  in  the  name  of  Chris- 
tianity. Now,  says  bp.  Porte  us,  '  at  a  time  when  military 
ideas  predominated  in  every  thing,  in  the  form  of  govern- 
ment, in  the  temper  of  the  laws,  in  the  tenure  of  lands,  and 
even  in  the  administration  of  justice  itself,  it  could  not  be 
matter  of  much  surprise,  that  the  church  shoidd  become 
military  too'°^' 

That  Christianity  has  been  the  cause  of  various  benefits 
to  mankind,  no  infidel,  who  is  possessed  of  tolerable  can- 
dor and  historical  information,  and  who  is  desirous  to  main- 
tain the  reputation  of  good  sense  and  impartiality,  will 
presume  to  deny.  The  remarks  that  follow  from  Mr.  Gib- 
bon have  not  only  a  reference  to  the  political  state  of  na- 
tions, as  influenced  by  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,  but 
also  to  the  topics  which  have  already  been  considered, 
namely,  its  effects  upon  knowlege  and  upon  morals.  But 
the  testimony  they  contain  is  so  honorable  to  Christianity, 
that  I  cannot  reconcile  my  mind  to  their  omission. 

In  the  5th  century,  '  Christianity  was  embraced  by  al- 
most all  the  Barbarians,  who  established  their  kingdoms  on 
the  ruins  of  the  Western  empire.'  It  '  introduced  an  im- 
portant change  in  their  moral  and  political  condition.  They 
received,  at  the  same  time,  the  use  of  letters,  so  essential  to 
a  religion,  v/hose  doctrines  are  contained  in  a  sacred  book, 
and,  while  they  studied  the  divine  trudi,  their  minds  were 
insensibly  enlarged  by  the  distant  view  of  history,  of  nature, 
of  the  arts,  and  of  societ)^  The  version  of  the  Scriptures  into 
•their  native  tongue,  which  had  facilitated  their  conversion, 
must  excite,  among  their  clergy,  some  curiosity  to  read  the 
original  text,  to  understand  the  sacred  liturgy  of  the  church, 

102  Evid.  of  Chr.  2d.  ed.  vol.  II.  p.  ."84—38" 

103  Serm.  p.  285. 


CHAP*  XXX.  321 

and  to  examine,  in  the  writings  of  the  fathers,  the  chain  of 
ecclesiastical  tradition.    These  spiritual  gifts  were  preserved 
in  the   Greek  and   Latin  languages,   which  concealed  the 
inestimable  monuments  of  ancient  learning.    The  immortal 
productions  of  Virgil,  Cicero,  and  Livy,  which  were  acces- 
sible to  the  Christian  Barbarians,  maintained  a  silent  inter- 
course between  the  reign  of  Augustus,  and  the  times  of 
Clovis  and  Charlemagne.     The  emulation  of  mankind  was 
encouraged  by  the  remembrance  of  a  more  perfect  state ; 
and  the  flame  of  science   was  secretly  kept  alive,  to  warm 
and  enlighten  the  mature  age  of  the   Western  world.     In 
the  most  corrupt  state  of  Christianity,  the  Barbarians  might 
learn  justice  from  the  /aw,  and  mercy  from  the  gospel:  and, 
if  the  knowlege  of  their  duty  was  insufficient  to  guide  their 
actions,  or  to  regulate  their  passions,  they  were  sometimes 
restrained  by  conscience,  and  frequently  punished  by  re- 
morse.    But  the  direct  authority  of  religion  was  less  effec- 
tual, than  the  holy  communion   which   united  them   with 
their  Christian  brethren  in  spiritual  friendship.     The  influ- 
ence of  these  sentiments  contributed  to  secure  their  fidelity 
in  the  service,  or  the  alliance,  of  the  Romans,  to  alleviate 
the  horrors  of  war,  to  moderate  the  insolence  of  conquest, 
and  to  perserve  in  the  downfal  of  the  empire,  a  permanent 
respect  for  the  name  and  institutions   of  Rome. — The  sa- 
cred character  of  the  bishops  was  supported  by  their  tem- 
poral possessions  i  they  obtained  an  honorable  seat  in  the 
legislative  assemblies  of  soldiers   and  freemen ;  and  it  was 
their  interest,  as  well  as  their  duty,  to  mollify,  by  peaceful 
counsels,  the  fierce  spirit  of  the  Barbarians"^*.     The  perpe- 


lO'l-  Thus  *  in  the  year  990,  several  bishops  in  the  South  of  France  as- 
Rembled,  and  published  various  regulations,  in  order  tO  set  some  bounds 
to  the  violence  and  frequency  of  private  wars  ;  if  any  person  in  their  dio- 
ceses should  venture  to  transgress,  they  ordained,  that  he  should  be 
excluded  from  all  Christian  privileges  during  his  life,  and  be  denied  Chris- 
tian burial  after  his  death. — A  council  v/as  held  at  Limoges,  A.  D.  994. 
The  bodies  of  the  saints,  according  to  the  custom  of  those  ages,  were 
carried  thither ;  and  by  these  sacred  relics  men  were  exhorted  to  lay 

Vol.  II.  s  s  -• 


322  CHAP.  XXX. 

tual  correspondence  of  the  Latin  clergy,  the  frequent  pil- 
grimages to  Rome  and  Jerusalem,  and  the  growing  authority 
of  the  Popes,  cemented  the  union  of  the  Christian  republic : 
and  gradually  produced  the  similar  manners,  and  common 
jurisprudence,  which  have  distinguished,  from  the  rest  of 
mankind,  the  independent,  and  even  hostile,  nations  of  mo- 
dern Europe.'  And  the  historian  observes  in  another  place, 
that,  ••  in  all  the  pursuits  of  active  and  speculative  life,  the. 
emulation  of  states  and  individuals  is  the  most  powerful 
spring  of  the  efforts  and  improvements  of  mankind.  The 
cities  of  ancient  Greece,'  he  remarks,  '  were  cast  in  the 


down  their  arms,  to  extinguish  their  animosities,  and  to  swear  that  tliey 
would  not  for  the  future  violate  the  public  peace  by  their  private  hostili- 
ties.— Several  other  councils  issued  decrees  to  tlie  same  effect.'  In  France 
a  general  peace  and  cessation  from  hostilities  took  place  A.  D.  1032,  and 
continued  for  seven  years,  in  consequence  of  the  methods  which  the  bishop 
of  Aqmtaine  successfully  employed  to  work  upon  the  superstition  of  the 
times.  *  And  a  resolution  was  formed,  that  no,  man  should  in  times  to  come 
attack  or  molest  his  adversaries,  durhig  the  sesisons  set  apart  for  celebrat- 
ing the  great  festivals  of  the  church,  or  from  the  evening  of  Thursday 
in  each  week,  to  the  morning  of  Monday  in  the  week  ensuing,  the  inter- 
vening days  being  considered  as  particularly  lioly,  our  Lord's  Passioa 
having  happened  on  one  of  these  daj  s,  and  his  Resurrection  on  another. 
A  change  in  the  dispositions  of  men  so  sudden,  and  which  produced  a 
resolution  so  unexpected,  was  considered  as  miraculous;  and  the  respite 
from  hostilities,  which  followed  upon  it,  was  called  tlie  Truce  of  God.— 
This,  from  being  a  regulation  or  concert  in  one  kingdom,  became  a  gene- 
ral law  in  Christendom,  was  confirmed  by  the  authority  of  several  popes, 
and  the  violators  were  subjected  to  the  penalty  of  excommunication. — A 
cessation  from  hostilities  during  three  complete  days  in  every  .week  allow- 
ed such  a  considerable  space  for  the  passions  of  the  antagonists  to  cool, 
and  for  the  people  to  enjoy  a  respite  from  the  calamities  of  war,  as  well  as. 
tb  take  measures  for  their  own  secui-rty,  that,  if  the  Truce  of  Goi/ had  been 
exactly  observed,  it  must  have  gone  far  towards  putting-  an  end  to  private 
wars.'  But  •  the  violent  spirit  of  the  nobihty  could  not  be  restrained  b}- 
any  engagements.  The  complaints  of  this  were  frequent ;  and  bishops, 
in  order  to  compel  them  to  renew  their  vows  and  pi-omises  of  ceasing 
from  their  private  wars,  were  obliged  to  enjoin  their  clergy  to  suspend  tlie 
performance  of  divine  sernce  and  the  exercise  of  any  religious  function 
within  the  parishes  of  such  as  were  refractory  and  obstinate.'  Dr.  Robert 
son's  View  of  the  Progress  of  Society  in  Em-ope,  S;c.  p.  33J. 


ClfAP.  XXX.  323 

happy  mixture  of  union  and  independence,  ^vllich  is  re- 
peated on  a  larger  scale,  but  in  a  looser  form,  by  the  nations 
of  modern  Europe  :  the  union  of  language,  religion,  and 
manners,  which  renders  them  the  spectators  and  judges  of 
each  other's  merit;  the  independence  of  government  and 
interest,  which  asserts  their  separate  freedom,  and  excites 
them  to  strive  for  pre-eminence  in  the  career  of  glory.' 

*  In  the  9th,  10th,  and  11th  centuries  of  the  Christian 
sera,  the  reign  of  the  gospel  and  of  the  church  was  extend- 
ed over  Bulgaria,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Saxony,  Denmark, 
Norway,  Sweden,  Poland  and  Russia'"'. — Truth  and  candor 
must  acknowlege,  that  the  conversion  of  the  North  impart- 
ed many  temporal  benefits  both  to  the  old  and  the  new 
Christians. — The  admission  of  the  Barbarians  into  the  pale 
of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  society  delivered  Europe  from  the 
depredations,  by  sea  and  land,  of  the  Normans,  the  Hun- 
garians, and  the  Russians,  who  learned  to  spare  their  bre- 
thren and  cultivate  their  possessions '°\  The  establishment 
of  law  and  order  was  promoted  by  the  influence  of  the  cler- 
gy ;  and  the  rudiments  of  art  and  science  were  introduced 
into  the  savage  countries  of  the  globe.  The  liberal  piety 
of  the  Russian  princes  engaged  in  their  service  the  most 


105  '  The  first  Introduction  of  literature  into  Russia  must,  says  Mi'. 
Coxe,  •  be  ascribed  to  Ulomir  the  Great,  upon  his  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity in  988 :  that  sovereign  even  instituted  schools,  and  passed  a  de- 
cree to  regulate  the  mode  of  instructing  youth  in  his  dominions.  His  son 
Yaroslof,  who  ascended  the  throne  in  1018,  invited  many  learned  priests 
from  Constantinople ;  and  caused  various  Greek  books  to  be  translated 
into  tlie  Russian  tongue. — He  established  a  seminary  at  Novogorod  foF 
oOO  students;  and  gave  to  that  republic  the  first  code  of  written  laws.* 
Travels  into  Poland,  Russia,  &c.  vol.  III.  p.  291. 

106  The  following  is  a  note  of  Mr.  Gibbon,  '  Listen  to  the  exultations 
of  Adam  of  Bremen  (A.  t).  1080),  of  which  the  'substance  is  agreeable 
to  truth  :  Ecce  ilia  feroclsslma  Danorum,  Stc.  natio — -jamdudum  novit  in 
Dei  laudlbus  Alleluia  resonare. — Ecce  populus  Ille  piraticus — suis  nunc 
finlbus  contentus  est.  Ecce  patrla  horribilis  semper  Inaccessa  propter 
cultum  idolorum — prjedicatores  veritatis  ublque  certatim  admlttit,  &c.  (de 
Situ  Dania:,  &c.  p.  40,  41.  edit.  Elzevir:  a  curious  and  original  pro.spect  of 
the  North  of  Europe,  and  the  introduction  of  Christianity)-' 


324  CHAP.  XXX. 

skilful  of  the  Greeks,  to  decorate  the  cities  and  instruct  the 
inhabitants,— The  Sclavonic  and  Scandinavian  kingdoms, 
which  had  been  converted  by  the  Latin  missionaries,  were 
exposed,  it  is  true,  to  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  and  temporal 
claims  of  the  popes ;  but  they  were  imited,  in  language  and 
religious  worship,  with  each  other,  and  with  Rome  ;  they 
imbibed  the  free  and  generous  spirit  of  the  European  re- 
public, and  gradually  shared  the  light  of  knowlege  which 
arose  on  the  western  world'°^.' 

.Thus  then  it  appears,  that  Christianity,  besides  promot- 
ing in  past  times  the  progress  of  the  arts  and  of  civiliza- 
tion, has  been  a  principal  cause,  that  the  nations  of  Europe, 
partially  enlightened  as  it  must  be  admitted  they  are,  are, 
however,  honorably  distinguished  among  the  countries  of 
the  globe  by  the  love  of  freedom  and  the  capability  of  im- 
provement. < 

That  the  clergy  have  had  a  beneficial  influence,  not  mere- 
ly in  furnishing  many  of  the  principal  reformers  ofj^religion 
and  restorers  of  learning,  but  in  several  other  important 
respects,  the  preceding  extracts  from  Mr.  Gibbon  are  suf- 
ficient to  shew.     This  is  a  truth  to  which  it  is  the  more 
necessary  to  advert,  in  forming  a  true  judgment  of  the 
effects  they  have  upon  the  whole  produced,  because  it  can- 
not be  denied,  that,  in  the  centuries  recently  elapsed,  the 
efforts  of  the  established  clergy,  as  a  body,  have  been  decid- 
edly  detrimental  to  the  cause  of  civil  freedom.     But  it  is 
not  to  Christianity,  that  these  efforts  are  to  be  attributed. 
They  are  resolvable  into  a  principle  already  noticed  in  the 
words  of  archdeacon  Paley,  '  that  they  who  are  in  posses- 
sion of  power  do  what  they  can  to  keep  it ;'  or,  to  state  it 
somewhat  more  broadly,  they  originate  in  an  eagerness  to 
cbtain  possession  of  riches  and  of  power,  and   in  a  desire, 
when  possessed  of  them,  to  maintain  and  to  augment  them. 
Had  Christianity,  then,  never  been  propagated,  still,  as  ano- 
ther religion  would  have  existed,  and  as  this  eagerness  after 
wealth  and  authority  would  still  have  prevailed,  the  clergy 

107  Vol.  VI.  p.  272,  275,  vol  Z.  p.  163,  242,  243. 


CHAP.  XXX.  32a 

of  that  religion  would  not  have  failed  to  aid  the  attempts 
of  the  prince  and  the  noble  in  the  depression  of  liberty.  Of 
all  religions  the  Christian  is  the  worst  adapted  to  promote 
the  sordid  views  of  kings  and  priests. 

The  clergy,  it  may  be  added,  were  the  cause,  that  the 
eanon  law  was  framed.  Now  although  the  law  operated  un- 
questionably, in  some  respects,  in  a  manner  unfavorable  to 
civil  liberty  ;  yet  those  ideas  on  the  subject  of  government, 
and  those  regulations  in  the  distriburion  of  justice,  which 
prevail  among  the   European  nations,  and  which   are  so 
superior  in  point  of  correctness  to  those  which  are  current 
in  most  other  countries  of  the  world,  may  be  partly  ascribed 
to  the  introduction  of  the   canon  law  into   Europe.     The 
clergy,  says  a  masterly  delineator  of  the  progress  of  society 
in  Europe, '  alone  were  accustomed  to  read,  to  inquire,  and 
to  reason.     Whatever  knowlege  of  ancient  jurisprudence 
had  been  preserved,  either  by  tradition,  or  in  such  books  as 
had  escaped  the  destructive  rage  of  barbarians,  was  pos- 
sessed by  them.     Upon  the  maxims  of  that  excellent  sys- 
tem, they  founded  a  code  of  laws  consonant   to  the   great 
principles  of  equity.     Being  dii'ccted  by  fixed  and  known 
rules,  the  forms  of  their  courts  were  ascertained,  and  their 
decisions  became  uniform  and  consistent. — It  is  not  sur- 
prising, then,  that  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  should  become 
such  an  object  of  admiration  and  respect,  that  exemption 
from  civil  jurisdiction  was  courted  as  a  privilege,  and  con- 
ferred as  a  reward.     It  is  not  surprising,  that,  even  to  rude 
people,  the  maxims  of  the  canon  law  should  appear  more 
equal  and  just  than  those  of  the  ill-digested  jurisprudence, 
which  directed  all  proceedings  in  civil  courts.     According 
to  the  latter,  the  differences  between  contending  barons 
were  terminated,  as  in   a  state  of  nature,  by  the  sword  ; 
according  to  the  former,  every  matter  was  subjected  to  the 
decision  of  la)vs.    The  one,  by  permitting  judicial  combats, 
left  chance  and  force  to  be  arbiters  of  right  and  wrong,  of 
truth  or  falshood  ;  the  other  passed  judgment  with  respect 
lo  these  by  the  maxims  of  equity,  and  the  testimony  of  wit- 
jf^esses.'     It  may  be  added,  th;>t  '  many  of  the  regulations, 


326  CHAP.  XXX. 

now  deemed  the  barriers  of  personal  security^  or  the  safe- 
guards of  private  property^  are  contrary  to  the  spirit,  and 
repugnant  to  the  maxims,  of  the  civil  jurisprudence  known 
in  Europe  during  several  centuries,  and  were  borrowed 
from  the  rules  and  practice  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts'"*.' 

It  is  to  the  general  security  of  life,  and  of  property  in 
this  quarter  of  the  globe,  when  contrasted  with  the  cus- 
tomary violation  of  these  great  rights  of  man  in  the  Asiatic 
and  African  kingdoms,  that  we  must  principally  attribute 
the  higher  pitch  of  prosperity,  the  superior  energy  and  ac- 
tivity of  character,  and  the  more  advanced  state  of  the  arts 
and  of  knowlege,  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  European 
nations.  If,  therefore,  it  be  admitted,  that  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  canon  law  by  the  clergy  has  materially  contri- 
buted to  create  a  greater  regard  to  persons  and  to  property, 
than  would  otherwise  have  prevailed  in  the  Western  world  ; 
Christianity  must  be  acknowleged,  in  this  respect,  to  have 
been  of  signal  service  to  the  cause  of  freedom  and  the  tem- 
poral interests  of  mankind. 

'  Christianity  has,'  says  Dr.  Priestley,  '  bettered  the  state 
of  the  world  in  a  civil  and  political  respect,  giving  men  a 
just  idea  of  their  mutual  relations  and  natural  rights'%  and 
thereby  gradually  abolishing  slavery,  with  the  servile  ideas 
which  introduced  it,  and  also  many  cruel  and  barbarous 
customs"".'  '  It  would,'  says  Dr.  Leechman,  '  be  a  work 
for  a  treatise, — to  trace  out  the  civil  laws  which  took  their 
rise  from  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and  to  delineate  their 
happy  effects  on  society,  through  a  course  of  ages"'.'  '  The 
Christian  religion,'  says  archdeacon  Paley,  '  acts  upon  pub- 
lic usages  and  institutions,  by  an  operation  which  is  only 

108  Dr.  Robertson's  View  of  the  Progress  of  Society  in  Europe,  8vo, 
p.  76. 

109  'The  Christian  relig-ion,'  saj's  Montesquieu,  *  in  spite  of  the  extent 
of  the  empire  and  tiie  influence  of  the  climate,  has  hindered  despotic  power 
from  being'  estabUshed  in  j£thiopia.'     Spirit  of  Laws  b.  XXIV.  c.  .3. 

110  Instit.  of  Nat.  and  Rev.  Rel.  vol.  I.  p.  378. 

111  The  Wisdom  of  God  in  the  Gospel-Revelation,  a  serm.  preached 
at  the  Gen.  Assembly  of  the  Ch.  of  Scotland. 


CHAP,   XXX.  327 

secondary  and  indirect.  Christianity  is  not  a  code  of  civil 
law.  It  can  only  reach  public  institutions  through  private 
character.  Now  its  influence  upon  private  character  may 
be  considerable,  yet  many  public  usages  and  institutions, 
repugnant  to  its  principles,  may  remain.  To  get  rid  of  these, 
the  reigning  part  of  the  community  must  act,  and  act  toge- 
ther. But  it  may  be  long,  before  the  persons  who  compose 
this  body  be  sufficiently  touched  with  the  Christian  charac- 
ter, to  join  in  the  suppression  of  practices,  to  which  they 
and  the  public  have  been  reconciled  by  causes,  which  will 
reconcile  the  human  mind  to  any  thing,  by  habit  and  inte- 
rest. Nevertheless,  the  effects  of  Christianity,  even  in 
this  view,  have  been  important.  It  has  mitigated  the  con- 
duct of  war,  and  the  treatment  of  captives.  It  has  softened 
the  administration  of  despotic,  or  of  nominally  despotic 
governments.  It  has  abolished  polygamy.  It  has  restrained 
the  licentiousness  of  divorces.  It  has  put  an  end  to  the  ex- 
posure of  children,  and  the  immolation  of  slaves.  It  has 
suppressed  the  combats  of  gladiators"*,  and  the  impurities 

112  Bp.  Porteus,  speaking  of  the  exposure  of  infants,  the  shows  of  gla- 
diators, and  the  usage  of  slaves,  as  practised  by  the  ancients,  says,  *  These 
were  not  the  accidental  and  temporary  excesses  of  a  sudden  fury,  but  \verc 
legal,  and  established,  and  constant  methods  of  mvu'dering  and  tormenting 
mankind,  encouraged  by  the  wisest  legislators,  and  affording  amusement 
to  the  tendercst  and  most  compassionate  minds.  Had  Christianity  done 
nothing  more  than  brought  into  disuse  (as  it  confessedly  has  done)  the 
two  former  of  these  inhuman  customs  entirely,  and  the  latter  to  a  very 
great  degree,  it  had  justly  merited  the  title  of  the  Benevolent  Religion. — 
Lipsius  affirms  (Saturn  1.  J.  c.  12.)  that  the  gladiatorial  shows  some- 
times cost  Europe  twenty  or  thirty  thousand  li\es  in  a  month  ;  and  not 
only  the  men,  but  even  the  women  of  all  ranks,  were  passionately  fond  of 
these  shows.' 

These  happy  changes  may,  says  the  bishop  of  London,  perhaps  be  at- 
tributed to  literature  and  to  philosophy.  But  were  not  Greece  and  Rome 
the  very  fountains  of  every  thing  that  was  sublime  and  excellent  in  human 
wisdom  and  polite  literature,  from  whence  they  were  distributed  ii>  the 
purest  streams  over  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  descended  to  all  succeedins^ 
ages  ?  Were  they  not  carried,  in  those  great  schools,  to  a  degree  of  ele- 
gance and  perfection,  at  which  it  is  at  least  doubtful  whether  the  moderns 
have  yet  arrived,  or  ever  will  ?  And  yet  in  these  very  places,  at  a  time 
when  all  the  ai'ts  and  sciences  were  in  their  full  strength  and  maturity,  it 


^28  '  GHAP.  xxx:* 

of  religious  rites.  It  has  banished,  if  not  unnatural  vices, 
at  least  the  toleration  of  them.  It  has  greatly  meliorated 
the  condition  of  the  laborious  poor,  that  is  to  say,  of  the 
•mass  of  every  community,  by  procuring  for  them  a  day  of 
weekly  rest.  In  all  countries,  in  which  it  is  professed,  it 
has  produced  numerous  establishments  for  the  relief  of  sick-' 
tiess  and  poverty^"  ;  and,  in  some,  a  regular  and  general 
provision  by  law.  It  has  triumphed  over  the  slavery  esta- 
blished in  the  Roman  empire  :  it  is  contending,  and,  I  trust, 
will  one  day  prevail,  against  the  worse  slavery  of  the  West- 
Indies"'^.'  Now  the  knowlege  of  Christianity  having  pro- 
duced effects  thus  powerful  on  laws,  political  regulations, 
and  national  customs,  will  justify  us  in  carrying  our  views 
still  farther,  and  in  concluding,  that  it  will  not  fail  to  ac- 
complish changes  of  no  small  magnitude  Avith  respect  to  go- 
vernment in  general.  Indeed  if  we  may  believe  the  present 
bishop  of  London,  Christianity  has  already  '  insensibly 
worked  itself  into  the  inmost  frame  and  constitution  of  ci- 
vil states"^'  I  differ  from  his  lordship  only  as  to  the  time. 
That  it  is  calculated  to  do  this,  and  will  hereafter  effect  the 
greatest  changes  in  this  respect,  is  a  statement  to  which  I 
am  perfectly  ready  to  subscribe. 

On  the  effects  Christianity  has  produced  upon  war  and 
domestic  slavery  the  celebrated  author  of  the  History  of 
Charles  the  Vth  has  treated  at  greater  length.  '  It  is  not,* 
says  he,  '  xhe  authority  of  any  single  detached  precept  in 
the  gospel,  but  the  spirit  and  genius  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion, more  powerful   than  any  particular  command,  which 


was  then  that  those  various  inhumanities,  which  are  by  Christians  held  in 
the  utmost  abhorrence,  were  pubhcly  authorised.'     Serm.  p.  311. 

113  '  Examine  the  annals  of  all  the  heathen  nations  of  antiquity ;  peruse 
the  modern  accoutits  of  Africa,  India,  China,  and  all  the  other  parts  of  the 
globe,  where  Christianity  is  not  received,  and  you  will  in  vain  look  for 
such  monuments  of  mercy,  such  fruits  of  Christian  charity,  as  may  be  met 
with  in  every  part  of  Chri'stendom.'  Bp.  Watson's  Serm.  and  Tracts, 
p.  173. 

114  Evid.  of  Chr.  2d  ed.  vol.  II.  p.  379. 

115  Portpus's  Sertn.  p.  310. 


CHAP.  XXX.  329 

hath  abolished  the  practice  of  slavery  through  the  world.' 
Wherever,  indeed,  such  opinions  as  those  contained  in  the 
New  Testament,  '  prevail,  no  human  creature  can  be  re- 
garded as  altogether  insignificant  and  vile''*;  even  the 
meanest  acquire  dignitj'  ;  exterior  distinctions  disappear  ; 
and  men  approach  nearer  to  that  original  equality  in  which 
they  were  at  first  placed,  and  are  still  viewed,  by  their  im- 
partial creator. — Is  no  admiration  due  to  the  generous  spi- 
rit of  that  religion,  which  i-estored  liberty,  not  to  one  nation 
or  society  alone,  but  rescued  from  the  worst  servitude  far 
the  greater  number  of  the  human  race,  and  acquired  for 
them  that  happy  freedom  which  they  still  enjoy  ?  When  we 
behold  Christianity  making  its  progress  through  the  world, 
tmd  working  every  where  such  an  important  alteration  in 
the  condition  of  mankind,  we  may  well  apply  to  a  temporal 
deliverance  what  the  prophet  spoke  concerning  a  spiri- 
tual salvation ;  Behold.,  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord  is 
come  !  Liberty  is  proclaimed  to  the  captive.,  and  the  opening 
of  the  prison  to  them  that  are  bound.  They  shall  rest  from 
their  sorroxu.,  and  from  their  fenr,  and  from  the  hard  bon- 
dage xvherein  they  were  made  to  serve^^'^J' 

These  observations  are  general.  The  same  judicious 
writer  elsewhere  considers  the  subject  with  more  minute- 
ness of  detail.  '  The  gentle  spirit,'  says  he"^,  '  of  the 
Christian  religion,  the  doctrines  which  it  teaches  concerning 
the  original  equality  of  mankind,  its  tenets  with  respect  to 
the  divine  government,  and  the  impartial  eye  with  which 
the  Almighty  regards  men  of  every  condition,  and  admits 
them  to  a  participation  of  its  benefits,  are  all  inconsistent 
with  servitude.  But  in  this,  as  in  many  other  instances, 
considerations  of  interest,  and  the  maxims  of  false  policy,  led 
men  to  a  conduct  inconsistent  with  their  principles.  They 
were  so  sensible,  however,  of  this  inconsistency,  that  to  set 

116  See  the  observations  in  vol.  II.  p.  14  and  15,  of  the  present  work. 

117  Is.  Isi.  1.  xiv.  3.  The  Situation  of  the  World  at  the  Time  of  Chrisfs 
Appearance :  a  serm.  by  W.  Robertson,  D.  D.  preached  before  tlie  Society 
in  Scotland  for  propagating  Christian  knowlege,  Jan.  6,  1755. 

118  View  of  tlie  Progress  of  Society  in  Europe,  &c.  p.  32?— .'>?5. 

Vol.  II.  T  t 


<J'30  CHAP.    XXTr, 

their  fellow-christians  at  liberty  from  servitude  5vas  deemed 
an  act  of  piety  highly  meritorious  and  acceptable  to  heaven. 
The  humane  spirit  of  the  Christian  religion  struggled  long 
with  the  maxims  and  manners  of  the  world,  and  contri- 
buted more  than  any  other  circumstance  to  introduce  the 
practice  of  manumission. — A  great  part  of  the  charters  of 
manumission,  previous  to  the  reign  of  Louis  X.  are  granted 
pro  amore  Dei^  pro  remedio  aninice^  et  pro  mercede  animoe. 
— The  formality  of  manumission  was  executed  in  a  church, 
as  a  religious  solemnity.  The  person  to  be  set  free  was  led 
round  the  great  altar  with  a  torch  in  his  hand,  he  took  hold 
of  the  horns  of  the  altar,  and  there  the  solemn  words  con- 
ferring liberty  were  pronounced. — Manumission  was  fre- 
quently granted  on  a  death-bed  or  by  latter- will.  As  the 
minds  of  men  are  at  that  time  awakened  to  sentiments  of 
humanity  and  piety,  these  deeds  pi-oceeded  from  religious 
motives,  and  were  granted  pro  redemptione  miimce^  in  order 
to  obtain  acceptance  with  God. — Another  method  of  ob- 
taming  liberty  was  by  entering  into  holy  orders,  or  taking 
the  vow  in  a  monastery. — Conformably  to  the  same  princi- 
ples, princes,  on  the  birth  of  a  son,  or  upon  any  other  agree- 
able event,  appointed  a  certain  number  of  slaves  to  be  en- 
franchised, as  a  testimony  of  their  gratitude  to  God  for 
that  benefit.  There  are  several  forms  of  manumission  pub- 
lished by  Marculfus,  and  all  of  them  are  founded  on  reli- 
gious considerations,  in  order  to  obtain  the  favor  of  God? 
or  to  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins.' 

Now,  it  may  be  observed,  that  without  the  abolition  of 
domestic  servitude,  political  freedom  could  never  have  stood 
on  a  right  basis.  Indeed  withoiit  this  preparatory  revolu* 
tion,  it  is  not  possible  to  conceive,  how  a  declaration  of  the 
Rights  of  Man  could  have  been  adopted,  or  a  fair  repre- 
sentative government  could  ever  have  been  constructed. 

*  The  abolition  of  domestic  slavery  was,'  says  Dr.  Ro- 
bertson, '  the  occasion  of  another  change  in  the  manners 
of  men,  which  is  no  less  remarkable.  Captives  taken  in 
war  were,  in  all  probability,  the  first  persons  subjected  to 
perpetual  servitude  :  and  when  the  necessities  or  luxury  of 


CHAP.    XXJt.  131 

mankind  increased  the  demand  for  slaves,  every  new  war 
recruited  their  number,  by  reducing  the  vanquished  to  that 
wretched  condition.  Hence  proceeded  the  fierce  and  des- 
perate spirit,  wdth  which  wars  were  carried  on  among  anci- 
ent nations.  While  chains  and  slavery  were  the  certain  lot 
of  the  conquered,  battles  were  fought,  and  towns  defended, 
with  a  rage  and  obstinacy,  which  nothing  but  horror  at  such 
a  fate  could  have  inspired :  but  by  putting  an  end  to  the 
crviel  institution  of  slavery.  Christianity  extended  its  mild 
influence  to  the  practice  of  war ;  and  that  barbarous  art, 
softened  by  its  humane  spirit,  ceased  to  be  so  destructive"^.' 

Having  endeavored,  by  the  aid  of  extracts,  to  display 
the  important  influence  Christianity  has  had  upon  literature 
and  knowlege,  upon  morals,  and  upon  laws  and  political  in- 
stitutions ;  I  shall  insert  one  or  two  quotations  relative  to 
the  Protestant  Refonnation,  which,  though  extremely  in- 
complete, may  nevertheless  be  regarded  as  a  republication 
of  the  scriptures  and  of  Christianity.  Had  not  Christianity 
existed,  and  produced  the  effects  it  did,  it  has  been  seen 
that  the  restoration  of  ancient  learning  could  hardly  ever 
have  taken  place.  Now  it  was  to  the  revival  of  learning, 
that  the  authors  of  the  Reformation  were  indebted  for  the 
boldness  of  their  inquiries  and  their  comparative  freedom 
from  prejudice,  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives  and  the 
accomplishment  of  that  important  revolution  which  they 
effected^^° ;  and  it  is  to  the  Reformation,  that  civil  liberty  is 
greatly  indebted  for  the  progress  it  has  made. 

Experience  shews,  says  Dr.  Blair,  '  that,  in  proportion 
as  religious  knowlege  difflises  its  light,  learning  flourishes 
and  liberal  arts  are  cultivated  and  advanced.  Just  concep- 
tions of  religion  promote  a  free  and  manly  spirit.  They 
lead  men  to  think  for  themselves  ;  to  form  their  principles 
upon  free  inquiry  ;  and  not  to  resign  their  conscience  to  the 
dictates  of  men.     Hence  they  naturally  inspire  aversion  to 


119  Dr.  Robertson's  serm.  ut  supra. 

120  In  p.  33  see  another  cause  stated,  which  originated  in  Christianit) , 
and  greatly  promoted  tlie  Protcsiaut  Reform>-\tion. 


S32  '  CHAP.  XXX. 

slavery  of  every  kind  ;  and  promote  a  taste  for  liberty  and 
laws.  Despotic  governments  have  generally  taken  the 
firmest  root  among  nations  that  were  blinded  by  Mahome- 
tan or  Pagan  darkness  ;  where  the  throne  of  violence  has 
been  supported  by  ignorance  and  false  religion.  In  the 
Christian  world,  during  those  centuries  in  v/hich  gross  su- 
perstition held  its  reign  undisturbed,  oppression  and  slavery 
were  in  its  train.  The  cloud  of  ignorance  sat  thick  and 
deep  over  the  nations  ;  and  the  world  M^as  threatened  with 
a  relape  into  ancient  barbarism.  As  soon  as  the  true  knoiv- 
lege  of  the  Lord  revived,  at  the  auspicious  sei-a  of  the  Re- 
formation, learning,  liberty,  and  arts,  began  to  shine  forth 
widi  it,  and  to  resume  their  lustre'^^' 

Another  of  the  most  elegant  writers  of  Scotland,  his  ma- 
jesty's late  historiographer  for  that  country,  after  asserting, 
that  the  Reformation  '  produced  a  revolution  in  the  senti- 
ments of  mankind,  the  greatest,  as  well  as  the  most  bene- 
ficial, that  has  happened  since  the  publication  of  Christian- 
ity ;'  says,  '  the  human  mind,  which  had  continued  long 
as  tame  and  passive,  as  if  it  had  been  formed  to  believe 
whatever  was  taught,  and  to  bear  whatever  was  imposed, 
roused  of  a  sudden,  and  became  inquisitive,  mutinous,  and 
disdainful  of  the  yoke  to  which  it  had  hitherto  submitted. 
— Nor  was  this  spirit  of  innovpiion  confined  to  those  coun- 
tries which  openly  revolted  from  the  pope"*:  it  spread 
through  all  Europe,  and  broke  out  in  every  part  of  it  with 

121  Bkir's  Sermons,  vol.  II.  p.  451. 

122  Dr.  Robertson  says  in  another  place,  •  The  desire  of  equalling^  the 
reformers  ii^  those  talents  wliich  had  procuredthem  respect,  the  necessity 
of  accpiiringthe  knowlcge  requisite  for  defending  their  own  tenets,  or  re- 
futing- the  arguments  of  their  opponents,  together  with  the  emulation  na- 
tural between  two  rival  churches,  engaged  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  to 
apply  themselves  to  the  study  of  useful  science,  which  they  cultivated  with 
such  assiduity  and  success,  that  they  have  gradually  become  as  eminent 
in  literature,  as  they. were  in  some  periods  infamous  for  ignorance.'  Hist,  of 
Charles  V.  vol.  IV  p.  325.  It  may  be  added,  that  some  of  the  most  celebrated 
politicians  whom  France  has  j^roduccd,  and  who  most  contributed  to  the 
Frencli  revolution  by  their  writings,  belonged  to  tlie  Romish  church.  Suclj. 
are  the  abbes  Mably  and  Raynal,  Gregoire  and  Si«yes, 


CHAP.  XXX.  333 

various  degrees  of  violence.  It  penetrated  early  into  France, 
and  made  quick  progress  there. — The  Reformation,  wher- 
ever it  was  received,  increased  that  bold  aiid  innovating 
spi^t  to  which  it  owed  its  birth.  Men,  who  had  tlie  cou- 
rage to  overturn  a  system,  supported  by  every  thing  which 
can  command  respect  or  reverence,  were  not  to  be  over- 
awed by  any  authority,  how  great  or  venerable  soever. 
After  having  been  accustomed  to  consider  themselves  as 
judges  of  the  most  important  doctrines  in  religion,  to  exa- 
mine these  freely,  and  to  reject,  Avithout  scruple,  what  ap- 
peared to  them  erroneous,  it  was  natural  for  them  to  turn 
the  same  daring  and  inquisitive  eye  towards  government, 
and  to  think  of  rectifying  whatever  disorders  or  imperfec- 
tions were  discovered  there.  As  religious  abuses  had 
been  reformed  in  several  places  without  the  permission  of 
the  magistrate,  it  was  an  easy  transition  to  attempt  the  re- 
dress of  political  grievances  in  the  same  manner'^^.' 

There  is  a  short  passage  in  Dr.  Hartley  so  much  to  my 
present  purpose,  that  I  cannot  avoid  quoting  it,  though  a 
part  of  it  has  already  been  inserted  in  a  note.  '  All  the 
known  governments  of  the  world  have  the  evident  princi- 
ples of  corruption  in  themselves.  They  are  composed  of 
jarring  elements,  and  subsist  only  by  the  alternate  preva- 
lence of  these  over  each  other.  The  splendor,  luxury, 
self-interest,  martial  glory,  &:c.  which  pass  for  essentials  in 
Christian  governments,  are  totally  opposite  to  the  meek, 
humble,  self-denying  spirit  of  Christianity?  and  whichso- 
ever of  these  finally  prevails  over  the  other,  the  present 
form  of  the  government  must  be  dissolvcd'^^' 

v'  Christianity,'  says  Mr.  Wakefield,  in  a  passage  from 
which  I  have  before  given  a  short  extract  in  a  note,  '  is  no 
other,  than  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  the  consequent  happi- 
ness of  the  human  race  :  a  liberty  and  happiness  only  to  be 
raised  on  the  foundation  of  that  equality  ascertained  by  the 
laws  of  our  creation,  and  ratified  by  the    gospel   in   every 


123  Reign  of  Charles  V.  8vo.  vol.  II.  p.  104,  335  ;  vol.  IV.  p.  320. 
JM  On  Ivlan,  1749,  vol.  II.  366. 


334  CHAP.    XXX* 

page,  which  acknowleges  no  distinction  of  bond  or  free. 
Interest  may  oppose,  and  sophistry  maj''  cavil ;  but  Equality^ 
in  its  rational  acceptation,  as  relating  to  civil  privileges  and 
impartial  laws,  is  interwoven  with  Christianity  itself:  they 
must  live  or  perish  together.  But  they  will  live  ;  and  mo- 
dern governments,  with  every  appendage  of  wickedness 
and  corruption,  will  in  time  disappear  before  them,  as  beasts 
of  prey  hasten  to  their  dens  of  rapine  and  darkness  from 
the  rising  suri'^^.' 

Having  quoted  from  so  large  an  assemblage  of  able 
writers,  I  shall  dismiss  the  subject,  as  soon  as  I  shall  have 
briefly  recapitulated,  and  drawn  towards  a  point  the  two 
principal  arguments,  which  may  be  urged  in  reply  to  the  ob  - 
jection  stated  in  the  sequel  of  the  last  chapter,  and  which 
are  corroborated  by  the  facts  and  reasonings  of  the  present 
appendix. 

Christianity  has  been  the  principal  cause  of  preserving 
the  knowlege,  and  encouraging  the  study,  of  the  learned 
languages.  The  study  of  the  learned  languages  has  occa- 
sioned the  resurrection  of  letters,  the  resurrection  of  let- 
ters has  occasioned  the  diffusion  of  knowlege,  and  the  dif- 
fusion of  knowlege  has  been  the  grand  cause  of  the  fall  of 
the  Gallic  monarchy,  and  will  at  length  be  fatal  to  the  other 
European  despotisms. 

The  existing  governments  of  the  continent  of  Europe  are 
constructed  and  administered  on  principles  opposite  to  the 
l^oral  laws  contained  in  the  New  Testament.  A  large  part 
of  the  people  of  Europe  derive  their  notions  directly  or 
indirectly  from  that  sacred  volume.  The  existence  of  go- 
vernments ultimately  depends    upon   opinion'"^     And   I, 


125  Spirit  of  Christianity  compared  with  the  Spirit  of  the  Times,  p.  26. 

126  '  Let  civil  governors — ^be  admonished,  that  the  physical  strengtli 
resides  in  the  governed ;  that  this  strength  wants  only  to  be  felt  and 
roused,  to  lay  prostrate  the  most  ancient  and  confirmed  dominion  ;  that 
civil  authority  is  founded  in  opinion  ;  that  general  opinion  therefore  ouglit 
always  to  be  treated  with  deference,  and  managed  with  delicacy  and  cif- 
climspection.'  Paley's  Principles  of  Mor,  and  Pol.  Phil.  Tlh  cd.  vol.  U. 
p.  125. 


CHAP.  XXX.  335 

therefore,  infer,  reasoning  upon  these  three  propositions, 
that  the  principles  of  Christianity  will  powerfully  contri- 
bute to  the  overthrow  of  the  tyrannies  of  Europe. 


That  Christianity,  by  communicating  to  the  mitid  a  spirit 
of  benevolence  and  a  spirit  of  fortitude,  forcibly  impells 
men  to  embrace  the  cause  of  civil  liberty,  and  eminently 
qualifies  them,  when  an  adequate  occasion  arises,  to  stand 
forward  as  its  most  intrepid  supporters,  were  two  of  the 
important  propositions,  which,  at  the  close  of  ch.  xxx,  I 
undertook  to  prove  by  the  aid  of  two  powerful  auxiliaries, 
the  present  bishops  of  London  and  Worcester.  After  the 
whole  of  the  work,  which  precedes  the  present  page,  was 
printed,  I  met  with  some  observations,  which  contain  so 
much  solid  sense,  and  are  so  powerfully  corroborative  of 
the  arguments  alleged  in  favor  of  these  propositions  ;  that 
I  have  been  induced,  notwithstanding  their  length,  and 
notwithstanding  the  subject  was  brought  to  a  conclusion,  to 
determine  in  favor  of  their  insertion.  They  are  taken 
from  two  Sermons,  written  by  Dr.  Leechman,  late  Princi- 
pal of  the  College  of  Glasgow,  and  founded  on  those  words 
of  St.  Paul,  that  God  hath  not  given  ns  the  spirit  of  fear  ^ 
hut  of  power  and  of  love^  and  of  a  sound  mind^^^. 

After  observing,  that '  iove,  in  the  New  Testament,  when 
spoken  of  in  genei-al,  usually  signifies  the  love  of  our 
brethre7i^  and  '  that  the  genius  of  Christianity  is  love  f 
professor  Leechman  says,  *  when  we  attend  to  the  precep- 
tive and  sentimental  parts  of  the  gospel,  we  find,  that  the 
spirit  of  love  breathes  in  all  of  them.  That  the  precepts 
of  Christianity  tend  to  restrain  and  suppress  all  the  male- 
volent passions,  and  to  promote  the  culture  and  improve- 
ment of  the  kind  and  friendly  ones,  can  admit  of  no  doubt.' 
Now  it  is  love,  '  which  leads  men  to  relieve  the  necessities, 
to  sympathise  with  the  sorrows,  and  to  share  in  the  joys, 

127  -2  Tim.  I.  r. 


oo6  CHAP,  XXX. 

of  all  mankind.'  It  insjjires  the  soul  with  generous  and 
noble  designs. — Those  heroic  actions,  which  are  recorded 
in  history,  and  which  we  read  with  admiration,  have,  for 
the  most  part,  been  the  effects  of  the  love  of  one's  country, 
of  particular  friendship,  or  of  an  ai'dent  zeal  for  some  im- 
portant interests  of  mankind.  Thus  heroism,  the  truest 
heroism,  derives  its  chief  excellence  and  strength  from  the 
spirit  of  love. — Farther,  the  points  of  light,  in  which  Chris- 
tianity places  our  feilow-men,  are  such  as  are  suited  to  af- 
fect us  in  the  most  powerful  and  tender  manner.  We  are 
all,  whether  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor,  learned  or  unlearned, 
equally  the  children  of  the  same  great  family,  and  equally 
under  the  protection,  and  at  the  disposal,  of  the  almighty 
and  all-wise  providence  of  the  same  great  Parent  of  all. 
We  are  all  fellow-travellers  through  this  state  of  pilgrimage, 
in  which  we  are  all  exposed  to  the  like  wants,  dangers,  and 
distresses.  We  have  all  the  like  imperfections  and  infirmi- 
ties, equally  liable  to  fail  in  our  duty  to  one  another,  and 
therefore  equally  standing  in  need  of  forgiveness  at  one 
another's  hands.'  For  our  hopes,  also,  we  are  equally  de- 
pendent. '  These  views  of  our  brethren  of  mankind  are 
certainly  fitted  to  bring  down  the  most  lofty  looks,  and  to 
convince  the  proudest  of  the  sons  of  men,  that,  notwith- 
standing all  the  distinctions  and  pre-eminences  on  which 
they  value  themselves,  they  are,  in  reality,  on  a  level  in 
the  most  important  respects  with  the  poorest  and  lowest  of 
the  human  race.' 

*  If  we  may  form  a  judgment  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity 
from  the  spirit  of  its  author^  we  must  acknowlege  it  to  be  a 
spirit  of  courage  and  boldness. — For  it  appears,  in  the  most 
incontestible  manner,  from  the  whole  history  of  our  Savi- 
our's life,  that,  while  he  supported  the  best  of  all  causes, 
he  set  himself,  though  single,  in  a  most  intrepid  manner, 
in  opposition  to  a  whole  nation. — His  first  disciples^  in  like 
manner,  discovered  a  spirit  of  the  most  active  and  deter- 
mined courage.  We  read  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  that  when  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  the  su- 
preme council  of  the  nation,  called  the  Apostles  Peter  and 


CHAP.  XXX.  5'37 

John  before  them,  and  commanded  them,  verse  18,  Jiot  to 
teach  in  the  name  of  y esus  ;  verse  19,  they  ansuoered  and 
said  unto  them^  xvhether  it  is  right  in  the  sight  of  God^  to 
hearken  nnto  you  more  than  unto  God.,  judge  ye  ;  for  rue  can- 
not but  speak  the  things  we  have  seen  and  heard :  and  they 
accordingly  went  out  from  the  council,  and  preached  the 
gospel  with  all  boldness.  And  we  read  in  the  same  chap- 
ter, that  even  their  enemies  were  struck  with  admiration, 
when  they  beheld  the  firmness  of  their  resolution  :  verse 
13,  whe?i  the  members  of  the  council  sazv  the  boldness  of  Pe- 
ter  and  John^  and  perceived  that  they  ivere  unlearned  and 
ignorant  men^  they  marvelled ;  and  they  took  knowlege  of 
them^  that  they  had  been  xvith  Jesus;  that  is,  they  perceived 
they  had  learned  boldness  and  intrepidity  In  his  school.  If 
your  time  would  allow  us  to  trace  the  spirit  of  Christianity, 
as  it  appeared  in  the  primitive  Christians^  we  should  find, 
that  persons  of  all  ranks,  sexes,  and  ages,  shewed  such  an 
unshaken  firmness  and  fortitude,  under  the  severest  trials, 
even  death  itself,  as  filled  their  very  enemies  and  perse- 
cutors with  astonishment.' 

'  If  we  may  judge  of  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  from  the 
strain  of  its  precepts.,  we  must  also  conclude  it  to  be  a  spi- 
rit of  resolution  and  fortitude.' 

*  The  unfeigned  belief  and  sincere  practice  of  the  Chris- 
tian  religion  has,^  likewise,  an  obvious  tendency  to  inspire 
zeal  and  courage  in  every  virtuous  cause.  This  will  be 
evident,  if  we  consider,  1st,  that  '  Christianity  is  the  best 
preservative  from  all  those  things,  which  damp  the  vigor 
of  the  mind,  and  enervate  its  active  powers  ;  and,  2dly, 
that  it  supplies  the  jnost  powerful  incitements  to  act  every 
worthy  part  in  life  in  the  firmest  and  most  vigorous  man- 
ner.' 

By  guarding  against  base  and  unworthy  behavior,  it  will 
preserve  the  mind  from  being  fearful  and  irresolute.  Every 
one  knows,  that  guilt  is,  in  its  own  nature,  the  source  of 
self-condemnation  and  of  dread  of  deserved  punishment  j 
that  it  naturally  fills  the  countenance  with  shame,  and  the 
heart  with  terror  ;  and  that,  when  the  mind  is  under  the 

Vol.  II.  u  u 


538  CHAP.  XXX. 

influence  of  these  enfeebling  passions,  it  must  be  timid  and 
dejected,  and  incapable  either  of  forming  or  of  executing 
any  manly  and  worthy  design.  It  is  likewise  obvious  to 
every  one,  that  those,  who  have  imbibed  the  spirit  of 
Christianity,  will  be  preserved  from  those  presumptuous 
sins,  which  strike  terror  into  the  conscience  ;  and  that  they 
will  have  such  trust  in  the  promises  of  the  Gospel  for  the 
pardon  of  their  involuntary  failings,  as  will  establish  them 
in  peace  of  mind,  and  in  the  humble  hope  of  the  favor  and 
acceptance  of  God.  In  this  peaceful  state  of  mind,  they 
will  be  in  full  possession  of  their  active  powers"^^*,  and 
ready  to  exert  them,  whenever  and  wherever  duty  calls. — 
Again  ;  that  immanly  habits  of  indulgence  in  pleasure  sof- 
ten and  enervate  men's  minds,  and  make  them  fly  from 
every  scene,  where  labor  and  fatigue,  where  activity  or 
boldness  are  required,  has  ever  been  admitted  as  a  certain 
truth.'  Now  these  habits  are  strictly  prohibited  by  Chris- 
tianity. 

So  far  from  acknowleging,  that  Christianity  furnishes 
powerful  incitements  to  perform  every  honorable  part  in 
life  in  a  vigorous  and  undaunted  manner,  Rousseau,  on  the 
contrary,  '  alleges,  that  the  true  Christian's  faith  of  another 
world,  and  a  better  life,  extinguishes  all  concern  in  him  for 

128  Dr.  Leechnvan's  conduct  through  life,  and  on  the  approach  of  death, 
correspond  to  the  sublime  views  which  he  lias  drawn  of  the  christian  cha- 
racter. During-  the  last  six  weeks  of  his  life,  when  he  was  confined  to 
his  bed,  '  he  exhibited,'  says  his  biographer,  Dr.  AVodrow,  '  a  spectacle 
not  of  compassion  cr  regret,  but  worthy  of  admiration,  a  great  soul  in  !t 
manner  without  a  body  ;  for  his  bodily  powers  were  all  gone,  except  the 
power  of  speech,  and  this  sometimes  scarcely  audible.  But  his  mind  re- 
tained its  wonted  vigor. — When  some  of  us  could  not  help  expressing 
some  surprise  at  his  sing-ular  composure  and  fortitude,  he  confessed,  he 
had  often  been  a  coward  for  pain,  and  perhaps  was  so  still ;  but  added, 
that  he  had  never  been  afraid  of  death.  His  generous  and  kind  affections 
too  continued  to  flow  with  their  usual  vigor.  He  entered  witli  spirit  into 
any  thing  connected  with  the  cause  of  religion  and  learning. — To  the  few 
veiy  intimate  friends,  wiio  had  the  happiness  to  converse  witli  him  on  his 
death-bed  his  mind  appeared — quite  transported  with  the  unboimded  and 
endless  prospects  of  Divine  goodness  that  were  before  him.'  Life  of  Dr 
Leechman,  prefixed  to  his  Sermons,  p.  88—90. 


CHAP.  XXX.  339 

this  present  world,  mkI  this  present  life,  or,  at  least,  that  it 
renders  him  incapable  of  any  brave  and  courageous  efforts 
to  preserve  or  promote  any  advantages,  that  relate  only  to 
such  a  transitory  state.  But  he  has  given  no  reason,  that 
can  convince  any  unprejudiced  person,  that  a  Christian 
though  of  the  most  elevated  and  heavenly  turn  of  mind, 
must  have  a  less  warm  and  delicate  sense  of  the  liberties, 
or  of  any  of  the  just  privileges,  of  mankind,  or  must  have 
less  zeal  for  the  interests  of  his  country,  his  family,  or 
friends,  merely  on  the  account  of  his  lively  hopes  of  ano- 
ther and  better  life  beyond  the  grave.  Besides,  when  we 
reflect,  that  a  main  part  of  the  duty  of  a  Christian,  accord- 
ing to  the  principles  of  his  religion,  lies  in  doing  good,  in 
promoting  the  happiness  of  others  to  the  utmost  of  his 
power  :  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive,  how  his  firm  hopes  of 
immortality  should  render  him  indifferent  to  his  duty,  and 
incapable  of  all  vigorous  and  manly  efforts  to  discharge  it.' 

'  It  seems  to  be  a  more  natural  conclusion,  that  the  firm 
h&pes  of  a  future  glorious  life  would  animate  the  real  Chris- 
tian to  discharge  his  duty  with  the  utmost  faithfulness  ; 
and,  particularly,  would  dispose  him  to  labor  with  the  ut- 
most vigor  to  do  good  to  his  brethren  of  mankind,  though 
it  should  be  at  th&  expense  of  a  transient  and  uncertain  life, 
that  is  soon  to  be  succeeded  by  a  permanent  and  eternal 
one.' 

'  Every  one,  who  has  attended  to  the  finer  and  nobler 
workings  of  the  human  heart, — must  be  convinced,  that  a 
warm  love  of  that  moral  excellence,  which  is  the  chief  glory 
of  the  divine  nature  itself,  earnest  breathings  after  nearer 
approaches  to  the  perfection  of  it,  a  lively  sense  of  duty,  a 
full  conviction  that  the  doing  that  duty  is  the  will  of  God, 
and  strong  impulses  of  the  friendly  and  public  affections, 
are,  without  all  doubt,  the  most  powerful  and  commanding 
principles  in  the  human  breast.  When  they  unite  their 
force,  and  operate  with  all  their  strength,  nothing  can  with- 
stand them.  If  we  attend  to  what  passes  in  life,  we  shall 
see  the  most  convincing  proofs  of  this  :  for,  whenever  a 
mind,  under  the  influence  of  these  great  principles,  has  its 


340  CHAP.  XXX. 

views  fixed  upon  spmc  great  or  good  end,  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  which  opposition,  difficulty,  or  danger  is  foreseen, 
then  holy  Christian  resolution  exerts  itself  with  its  whole 
strength ;  and,  indeed,  becomes  in  a  manner  invincible,  so 
that  hardly  any  difficulty  or  danger  can  stand  before  it. 
And  we  may  easily  conceive,  how  it  should  be  so,  when  we 
reflect  upon  the  illustrious  and  mighty  supports,  which  our 
worthy  resolutions  receive  from  the  exercise  of  Christian 
faith  and  piety.  The  full  assurance  of  divine  approbation 
and  aid  must  ever  inspire  the  soul  with  confidence  and  ala- 
crity, in  acting  that  part  which  truth  and  integrity  require. 
It  is  impossible,  even  in  imagination,  to  conceive  any  thing 
better  calculated  for  emboldening  the  human  mind,  and 
supporting  its  most  determined  resolutions,  than  the  firm 
persuasion,  that  the  Divine  administration  is  ever  on  the 
side  of  righteousness,  and  that  the  righteous  man  shall  be 
most  amply  and  gloriously  rewarded  for  whatever  he  may 
have  suffered  for  his  adherence  to  it. — Conscious  of  his  ho- 
nest endeavors  to  do  his  duty,  though  amidst  many  weak- 
nesses and  infirmities,  he  solaces  himself  with  the  modest 
but  triumphant  hope,  through  the  mercy  of  God  in  Jesus 
Christ,  that  all  his  good  intentions,  all  his  secret  acts  of 
goodness,  all  his  silent  sufferings  and  struggles,  and  all  his 
services,  are  recorded,  and  shall  be  one  day  published,  ho- 
nored, and  rewarded,  on  the  grandest  of  all  theatres,  before 
an  assembled  world.  These  hopes  cheer  and  gladden,  and 
at  the  same  time  strengthen,  his  heart,  in  the  hour  of  dan- 
ger, in  the  day  of  distress,  and  in  the  prosecution  of  every 
virtuous  design.' 

'  And,  wherever  this  superiority  to  the  fear  of  man,  and 
the  fear  of  temporal  evils  and  dangers,  flows  from  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Gospel,  it  will  be  accompanied  with  a  noble 
freedom  and  independence  of  soul,  that  can  never  dwell 
with  mean  and  slavish  principles.  Men,  though  in  the  low- 
est station  of  life,  who  have  a  just  sense  of  the  dignity  of 
human  nature,  and  of  those  Christian  virtues  which  dignify 
it,  will  discover,  on  proper  occasions,  a  strength  and  great- 
ness of  mind,  wh;ch  will  make  them  disdain  every  thing. 


CHAP.  XXX.  341 

that  approaches  in  any  degree  to  meanness,  cowardice,  or 
slavish  fear.'  It  may  also  be  added,  '  that  a  courage,  de- 
rived from  these  principles  and  motives, — will  be  more  ra- 
tional and  vigorous,  more  firm  and  permanent,  than  that 
which  flows  merely  from  animal  spirits,  from  external  ac- 
cidents, from  the  love  of  glory,  or  from  what  the  world 
calls  a  sense  of  honor.' 

Some  perhaps  Vvill  object,  '  that  the  tendency  of  Chris- 
tianity is  only  to  form  men  to  a  kind  of  passive  courage  or 
patience  under  sufferings  ;  but  that  it  has  no  tendency  to 
form  them  to  that  active  courage,  which  distinguishes  the 
hero  from  the  confessor.  Let  it  suffice  to  answer  to  this 
objection,  that  that  unremitting  zeal  and  activity,  which 
prompted  the  apostle  Paul,  for  instance,  to  spend  thirty 
yeai's  in  journies  by  land,  voyages  by  sea,  amidst  number- 
less difficulties,  dangers,  and  sufferings,  to  propagate  Chris- 
tianity, would  have  operated  in  the  same  manner,  and 
excited  to  the  like  indefatigable  labors  and  efforts,  if  Pro- 
vidence had  called  him  to  defend  his  country,  to  support 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  mankind,  or  to  prosecute  any 
other  worthy  undertaking.  It  seems  natural  to  conceive, 
that  a  magnanimity  and  activity  of  mind,  which  were  ma- 
nifested in  such  an  uniform  and  conspicuous  manner  through 
the  whole  of  the  apostle's  life,  in  promoting  one  great  cause, 
would  have  displayed  themselves  in  a  similar  way,  if  he 
had  been  engaged  in  any  other  important  cause,  which  rea- 
son, religion,  and  the  good  of  mankind,  would  justify  and 
recommend'^'.' 

129  Dr.  Leechman's  Sermons,  1789,  vol.  I,  p.  251—391. 


342  CHAP.    XXXI. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


On  the  True  Nature  of  the  MtLLENNiUM. 

IHAT  men  of  sense  and  reflection,  who  have  not 
made  the  doctrine  of  the  Millennium  particularly  an  ob- 
ject of  their  inquiries,  should  often  have  entertained  it 
with  doubt,  or  rejected  it  with  boldness,  is  no  ground  of 
surprise.  Of  the  writers,  on  the  book  revelation,  and  the 
other  prophecies  of  scripture,  extremely  few  have  had  any 
comprehensive  views  on  the  magnitude  of  those  improve- 
ments, which,  there  are  just  gounds  for  expecting,  will 
hereafter  be  accomplished,  with  respect  to  the  situation, 
the  opinions,  and  the  conduct  of  mankind.  The  mightv 
inflvience  of  political  institutions,  and  the  complete  revolu- 
tion in  the  state  of  society,  which  v.' ill  gradually  be  produced 
by  justly  constructed  governments,  have  scarcely  ever  been 
the  subjects  of  their  speculation.  Hence  viany  of  them 
have  been  hastily  led  to  conclude,  that  the  great  changes  in 
favor  of  mankind,  foretold  in  scripture,  must  either  relate 
to  a  future  and  eternal  world  ;  or  that  they  must  point  to  a 
state  of  things  on  this  globe,  which  will  not  take  place,  until 
some  of  the  primary  laws  of  nature  shall  have  been  sus- 
pended, and  the  earth  shall  ha\  e  supernaturally  received  an 
altered  form.  And,  indeed,  I  am  not  acquainted  with  a 
single  English  author  who  has  written  at  any  length  on  the 
millennium,  who  appears  to  have  entertained  notions,  which, 
in  my  estimation,  would  deserve  to  be  entitled  at  once  cor- 
rect and  elevated.  Such  a  picture  of  the  millenniary  period 
may,  however,  I  am  persuaded,  be  drawn,  as  is  alike  ra- 


cuAp.  XXXI.  34S 

tlonal  and  encouraging,  alike  agreeable  to  the  predictions 
of  scripture  and  to  the  expectations  of  philosophy. 

Of  those  who  have  treated  of  the  millenniary  period  at 
considerable  length,  no  writer  perhaps  has  excited  so  much 
attention  as  Dr.  Thomas  Burnet'.  Like  Milton,  indeed, 
he  possessed  an  imagination  in  a  high  degree  fervid  and  ad- 
v.enturous,  which  loved  to  wander  in  paths  which  had  never 
before  been  trodden,  and  to  quit  this  world*,  in  order  to 
visit  others,  inhabited  by  different  beings,  and  subject  to 
different  laws.  He  has  accordingly  erected  a  sublime,  though 
falsc^,  Theory.  By  dexterity  in  confounding  the  events  of 
different  periods,  by  the  mixture  of  probability  with  fiction, 
by  the  joint  aid  of  argument  and  of  authority,  by  the  alle- 
gation of  a  number  of  circumstances  really  foretold  in  the 
pages  of  prophecy,  he  has  strongly  arrested  the  attention, 
and  has  sometimes  conquered  the  incredulity,  of  his  readers. 
Still,  however,  whilst  he  has  had  many  to  admire,  he 
has  had  but  few  to  follow  him. 

Of  Dr.  Burnet's  ideas,  relative  to  the  future  history  of 
the  globe,  the  five  following  paragraphs  contain  some  of  the 
principal  outlines. 


1  This  eminent  Scotchman  received  his  cducalion  at  Clare  Hall,  ia 
Cambrldg-c.  He  was  admitted  there  in  the  year  1651 ;  but  he  did  not 
])ubli.sh  tiie  two  first  books  of  his  Tclluris  Theoia  Sacra  till  the  year  1680, 
nor  tlie  two  remaining  books  till  the  }  ear  1689. 

2  '  The  spheres  of  men's  understandings,'  says  Dr.  Burnet,  *  are  as  dif- 
ferent as  prospects  upon  the  earth  :  some  stand  upon  a  rock  or  a  mountain, 
and  see  far  round  about;  otliers  are  in  a  hollow,  or  in  a  cave,  and  h.ive  no 
))rospect  at  all.  Some  men  consider  nothing  but  what  is  present  to  their 
senses  ;  others  extend  their  thoughts  both  to  what  is  past,  and  what  is 
future. — I  know  not  by  what  good  fate,  my  thoughts  have  been  alwajs 
fixed  upon  things  to  come,  more  tlvan  upon  things  present.'  Sacred  Theory 
rjf  the  Earth,  vol.  II.  p.  5,  17'.>. 

3  With  respect  to  those  parts  of  Dr.  Burnet's  Theory,  which  relate  to 
the  laws  of  motion  and  the  principles  of  natural  philosophy,  I  cite  tlie 
words  of  an  able  mathematician.  '  None  of  these  wonderful  effects, 
which  he  endeavors  to  explain,  could  have  proceeded  from  the  causes  he 
assigns.'     Kcill's  Exam,  of  Dr.  Burnetts  Theory,  1698-     Intr.  p.  26 


344  CHAP.    XXXI. 

When  the  existing  state  of  society  terminates,  and  the 
prophecies  relative  to  the  kings  of  the  earth  are  about  to 
receive  their  complete  fulfilment ;  when  Antichrist  receives 
his  final  overthrow,  and  Satan  is  divested  of  the  power  of 
executing  any  farther  plans  of  mischief;  the  period  for  the 
burning  of  the  globe  will  arrive.  The  great  agents  of  na- 
ture will  combine  to  prepare  the  way  for  this  great  catas- 
trophe. The  work  of  destruction  will  not  be  difficult ;  nor 
is  the  mode,  by  which  it  will  be  accomplished,  altogether 
inexplicable.  The  earth  is  furnished  with  abundant  stores 
of  nitre  and  sulphur,  and  with  all  the  materials  of  the  vol- 
cano and  the  earthquake.  The  antediluvian  earth  was  re- 
gular and  close  in  all  its  parts  ;  without  caverns  and  without 
mountains.  But  that  which  we  inhabit  contains  the  ruins 
only  of  what  it  once  was :  and  these  ruins,  which,  at  the 
memorable  period  of  the  deluge,  were  recovered  from  the 
water,  when  the  eai'th's  exterior  covering  fell  into  the 
central  abyss,  are  not  only  unequal  at  their  surface,  but 
within  also  are  hollow,  loose,  and  incompact.  Innumerable, 
therefore,  are  its  outlets,  and  it  is  in  most  places  capable  of 
ventilation,  and  pervious  to  fire.  Previously  also  to  the 
general  conflagration,  there  will,  it  may  be  expected,  long 
be  a  cloudless  sky  and  a  heated  air:  in  consequence  of  which, 
the  springs  and  rivulets  will  be  dried  up  ;  the  ground  will 
be  overspread  with  fissures ;  the  grass  and  the  turf,  the 
shrub  and  the  forest,  will  be  easily  convertible  into  fuel ; 
and  the  oily  parts  of  bodies,  together  with  the  scattered 
portions  of  fire,  which  lie  imprisoned  in  many  hard  sub- 
stances, will  undergo  the  process  of  separation,  and  in  a 
great  degree  be  set  afloat. 

At  this  period,  and  antecedently  to  the  commencement 
of  the  millennium,  Christ  will  descend  upon  earth,  the 
lustre  of  the  sun  being  veiled,  and  the  heavens  involved  in 
gloom.  On  his  approach,  the  summits  of  the  mountains 
will  smoke,  the  earth  will  shake,  the  sea  will  retire  within 
its  deepest  recesses,  the  clouds  will  be  the  seat  of  thunder 
and  pointed  lightnings,  the  air  will  gleam  with  the  corusca- 
tions of  innumerable  meteors,  and,  from  the  number,  mag- 


CHAP.  XXXI.  345 

nitude,  or  proximity  of  the  comets  which  will  be  visible, 
the  higher  regions  of  the  sky  will  assume  a  new  and  terrific 
aspect.  When  our  Saviour,  sitting  in  a  flaming  chariot, 
and  surrounded  by  an  infinite  host  of  angels  and  arch-angels, 
draws  near  to  the  earth,  its  inhabitants  will  see,  will  trem- 
ble, will  be  astonished. 

On  an  appointed  signal,  the  destroying  and  the  tutelary 
angels  execute  their  instructions.  To  the  care  of  the  latter, 
there  is  reason  to  hope,  will  be  intrusted  virtuous  man- 
hood and  upright  old  age,  the  feebleness  of  infancy  and 
the  innocence  of  childhood.  The  treasuries  of  fire  in  earth 
and  in  heaven  are  opened ;  and  shortly  the  saddest  specta- 
cles, which  eye  can  behold,  present  themselves  on  every 
side.  The  cities  of  the  earth  are  in  one  universal  blaze. 
Innumerable  millions  of  either  sex  and  of  every  rank  sink 
under  the  agonies  of  death,  in  its  most  frightful  forms. 
Rivers  of  sulphur  rush  into  the  sea,  and  encounter  the  fury 
of  its  waters;  wreaths  of  fire,  and  pillars  of  smoke,  are 
every  where  combined  j  hills  are  hurled  into  the  air ; 
and  ten  thousand  volcanoes  at  once  discharge  their  flames. 
By  the  force  of  one  element,  all  the  the  works  of  art,  all 
the  labors  of  man,  all  the  varieties  of  nature,  are  annihi- 
lated. Whatever  was  distinguished  by  utility,  or  by  ele- 
gance, or  by  magnificence,  is  obliterated.  Where  are  now 
the  powerful  empires  of  the  world,  and  their  great  Impe- 
rial cities  ?  Where  do  their  pillars  and  their  trophies  stand ; 
or  where  is  the  proud  inscription,  or  the  victor's  name  ? 
Fire-  is  a  cruel  enemy,  who  makes  no  distinction.  Rome 
itself,  eternal  Rome,  the  Empress  of  the  world,  whose  do- 
minion in  ancient  and  modern  times  constitutes  an  ample 
portion  of  its  history,  is  overthrown  and  utterly  subverted, 
notwithstanding  the  depth  of  her  foundations  and  the 
strength  of  her  palaces.  The  conflagration  at  length  reaches 
beyond  the  external  shell  of  the  earth,  and  grows  more 
intense.  The  rocks  and  loftiest  mountains,  which  have 
sustained  the  artillery  of  heaven  for  so  many  ages,  are  torn 
from  their  foundations.     Here   stood   the  Alps,  a  prodi- 

VOL.    II.  XX 


^46  CHAP,  xxxr* 

gious  range  ol  rugged  mountains,  which  extended  their 
arms  from  the  shores  of  the  ocean  to  the  banks  of  the  Black 
Sea.  Now  this  mighty  mass  of  stone  is  loosened,  and 
melts  away,  as  a  tender  cloud  softens  into  rain.  Here  stood 
the  African  mountains,  and  Atlas,  with  his  head  above  the 
clouds.  There  was  frozen  Caucasus,  and  Taurus,  and 
Imaus,  and  the  mountains  of  Asia.  And  yonder^  towards 
the  North,  stood  the  Riph^ean  hills,  clothed  in  ice  and 
snow.  All  these  are  vanished,  like  the  snow  vipon  their 
summits,  and  swallowed  vip.  The  sea  itself  is  graduall}' 
consumed ;  and  the  whole  exterior  frame  of  the  earth  is 
dissolved  in  a  deluge  of  fire.  But,  whilst  all  the  solid  parts 
near  the  surface  are  thus  reduced  into  a  glittering  orb  of 
fluid  fire ;  the  lighter  and  more  volatile,  such  as  smoke, 
watery  vapor,  and  the  earthy  particles,  which  the  power 
of  heat  is  capable  of  supporting,  will  float  in  the  agitated 
air,  and  constitute  a  thick  region  of  darkness,  encompass- 
ing the  flaming  globe. 

During  the  space  of  some  years,  it  will  remain  a  dread- 
ful spectacle  to  the  neighboring  planets  ;  an  awful  momv 
ment  of  the  divine  wrath  against  disloyal  and  disobedient 
creatures.  At  length,  however,  the  flames  will  be  extin- 
guished. At  length  the  surrounding  darkness  will  be  dis- 
pelled. For,  when  the  force  of  fire  ceases  to  operate,  the 
particles  of  earth  and  air  and  water,  which  fill  the  surround- 
ing chaos,  will,  according  to  their  diiferent  degrees  of 
gravity,  successively  descend,  and  arrange  themselves  on 
the  smooth  surface  of  the  liquified  world.  As  accessions 
are  thus  perpetually  made  to  it  from  all  the  heights  and 
regions  of  the  air,  it  will  become  by  degrees  firm  and  im- 
moveable, will  be  able  to  support  itself  and  a  new  race  of 
inhabitants,  and,  being  possessed  of  all  the  principles  of  a 
fruitful  soil,  as  well  for  the  production  of  animals  as  of 
plants,  will  want  no  property  belonging  to  an  habitable  earth. 
The  new  orb  will  be  level  and  regular ;  and,  as  the  ocean 
will  be  shut  up  in  its  centre,  its  surface  will  be  alike  desti- 
tute of  mountains  and  of  seas. 


CHAP.  XXXI.  '         347 

Nor  will  it  long  remain  without  inhabitants  ;  for  the  vir- 
tuous of  mankind,  and  the  martyrs  of  Jesus,  and,  among 
others,  the  patriarchs,  the  prophets,  and  the  apostles,  will 
rise  from  the  dead,  and  exclusively  enjoy  the  privileges  of 
of  a  prior  resurrection.  The  face  of  nature  will  be  emi- 
nently beautiful ;  and  the  earth  will  be  endowed  with  spon- 
taneous fertility.  The  axis  of  the  globe  will  be  parallel  to 
the  axis  of  the  Ecliptic ;  and  there  will  be  perpetual  sereni- 
ty, and  a  perpetual  spring,  free  from  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
seasons,  and  the  inconveniencies  of  heat  and  of  cold.  The 
newly  created  animals  will  be  mild  and  tractable.  The 
lamb  and  the  kid  will  associate,  on  terms  of  familiar  inti- 
macy, with  the  wolf,  the  lion,  and  the  leopard,  who  will 
retain  no  thirst  for  blood,  no  fondness  for  prey.  The  sons 
of  the  firet  resurrection  will  possess  bodies  similar  in  shape 
to  those,  which  they  had  in  their  former  life  ;  but  they  will 
be  superior  to  the  attacks  of  disease.  The  new  creation 
will  be  enlightened  by  the  divine  presence  in  an  extraordi- 
nary manner.  All  evil  will  be  extirpated.  All  mischievous 
passions  will  be  extinguished.  There  will  be  no  marriage; 
and,  as  infants  will  not  be  born,  no  part  of  their  time  will 
be  occupied  in  the  nursing  of  children  or  in  the  education 
of  youth.  As  they  will  be  elevated  to  a  life  of  uninterrupt- 
ed freedom  and  of  joyful  inactivity,  day  will  glide  after 
day,  and  year  will  succeed  after  year,  in  the  alternate  frui- 
tion of  the  impassioned  transports  of  devotion  and  the 
calmer  pleasures  of  contemplation.  After  having  thus  en- 
joyed a  thousand  years  of  the  highest  terrestrial  felicity, 
the  glories  of  a  celestial  world  will  dawn  upon  them  ;  and 
they  will  be  transported  through  the  sky  to  meet  our  Sa- 
viour in  the  clouds,  when  he  comes  to  visit  the  earth  a  third 
time,  at  the  period  of  the  final  resurrection  and  the  general 
judgment. 

Without  stopping  to  combat  the  peculiarities  of  Dr. 
Burnet's  Theory,  objections  to  which  will  spontaneously 
occur  in  the  mind  of  the  intelligent  reader,  I  shall  proceed 


348  CHAP.    XXXI. 

to  the  farther  developement  of  my  own  expectations  and 
conjectures. 

The  idea  of  a  millennium,  it  will  perhaps  be  urged,  is 
irrational,  because  we  are  told  by  different  commentators, 
as  by  bishop  Newton'*  and  Mr.  Lowth',  that,  on  the  arrival 
of  this  period,  all  earthly  governments  are  to  terminate. — 
But  of  the  texts,  which  authorise  them  to  draw  this  conclu- 
sion, I  am  yet  to  be  informed.  That  the  destruction  of  the 
present  European  governments  is  predicted,  I  certainly  am 
not  disposed  to  question:  but  it  surely  does  not,  therefore, 
follow,  that  there  are  to  be  no  governments  at  all.  Very 
different  was  the  opinion  of  Jurieu.  '  All  those  vain  titles,' 
says  he,  '  which  now  serve  for  ornament  and  pride,  shall 
then  be  vanished.  Brotherly  love  shall  make  all  men  equal; 
not  that  all  distinction,  and  all  dignities  among  men,  shall 
cease.  This  kingdom  is  no  anarchy ;  there  shall  be  some 
to  govern,  and  others  to  obey.  But  government  shall  then 
be  without  pride  and  insolence,  without  tyranny  and  without 
violence*.'  It  is  Christianity,  says  Dr.  Maclaine,  which 
*  confirms  by  positive  precepts,  encourages  by  sublime  pro- 
mises, and  enjoins,  under  pain  of  the  most  tremendous 
evils,  those  virtues  of  piety,  candor,  gratitude,  tempe- 
rance, and  benevolence,  that  strengthen  all  the  bonds  of 
civil  government^'  Mr.  Stephens,  a  diligent  student  of 
the  Apocalypse,  long  ago  observed,  that  '  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  is  not  contrary  to  governments,  powers,  and  autho- 
rities, purely  as  such  ;  but  only  to  governments  as  idolatrous, 
as  tyrannical,  as  contrary  to  the  laws  of  Christ^'  And  it 
will  shortly  be  seen,  that  there  actually  are  passages  in 
Daniel  and  in  John,  which  lead  us  to  expect,  that  govern- 
ments will  continue  to  exist  in  the  millennium,  though  ad- 
ministered by  persons  of  a  very  different  character  from 
those,  who  are  at  present  invested  with  power. 

4  Vol.  L  p.  492.  5  On  Dan.  VII.  26. 

6  Vol.  II.  p.  379. 

7  Lett,  addpessed  to  S.  JenjTis,  Esq.  on  his  view  of  the  Intern.  Evid.  of 
Chr.  p.  123. 

8  Calculation  of  the  Number  of  the  Beast,  8cc.  p.  300. 


CHAP.   XXXT.  349 

The  whole  of  tlie  Apocalypse  may,  says  a  late  writer,  '  be 
considered  as  a  number  of  scenic  pictures^.'  Thus  the 
material  images,  occurring  at  the  entrance  of  the  xxth  chap- 
ter, are  similar  to  those  employed  at  the  close  of  the  xixth. 
We  are  there  told,  that  the  ten-horned  beast  rvas  taken^  and 
xvith  him  the  false  prophet^  and  that  these  xvere  both  cast  alive 
into  a  lake  of  jire :  that  the  overthrow  of  the  antichristian 
monarchies  of  Europe  is  foretold  in  this,  as  well  as  in  other 
passages,  has  already  been  seen.  But  the  succeeding  verses 
in  ch.  XX  proceed  a  step  farther.  Another  symbolic  person- 
age, the  dragon^  is  there  described,  as  appearing  to  St« 
John  in  the  prophetic  vision,  and  being  boundvf'xxh  a  chain^ 
till  the  thousand  years  be  fulfilled.  Conformably  to  what 
was  stated  in  ch.  vi.'°  and  in  agreement  with  its  proper  sym- 
bolic import,  I  observe,  that  the  dragon^  as  it  cannot  here 
denote  the  tyranny  of  the  Roman  emperors,  appears  to  be 
put  for  monarchical  despotism  in  general. 

Now  '  to  bind,'  says  Dr.  Lancaster,  '  is  to  forbid,  or  to 
restrain  from  acting.'  Therefore  the  binding  of  the  dragon 
for  a  thousand  prophetic  years  seems  manifestly  to  signify, 
that  the  fury  of  monarchical  tyranny  shall  during  that  pe- 
riod be  restrained".  The  angel  of  the  vision  is  described 
(v.  1),  as  having  not  only  a  great  chain^  to  bind  this  figura- 
tive personage,  but  also  tjjv  tt}<.a^*  t}^  cc^vfo-h^  the  key  of  the  sea, 
by  means  of  which  the  symbolic  sea  may  be  shut  up.  '  Our 
translation,'  says  Daubuz,  '  turns  the  whole  thus,  the  key 
of  the  bottomless  pit;  but  afus-o-a?  signifies  always  the  deep 
or  great  sea,  in  opposition  to  little  waters  or  seas'*.' 

Whilst  it  is  remarked  by  this  able  commentator,  that  a 
key  is  an  emblem  of  that  which  binds  and  shuts  up ;  he  de- 
clares, in  correspondence  with  a  passage  formerly  cited 
from  him,  that  uQvc-a-oq.  or  the  sea^  is  an  established  symbol 
for  a  state  of  rvar.  That  a  complete  stop  will  now  be  put 
to  this  unnatural  state  of  things,  is   accordingly  the  inter- 


9  '  The  Revelation  is  wholly  dramatical.'     Daubuz,  p.  154. 

10  In  p.  65—67. 

11  In  the  symbolic  diction  of  pi'ophccy  a  '  chain  si^iifies  liindrance 
from  action.     So  Artemidorus,  lib.  III.  c.  ;>,).'     Dr.  Lancaster. 

12P.39r. 


350  CHAP.    XXXI. 

pretation,  which  he  annexes  to  this  clause  of  the  pro- 
phecy'^ 

In  the  verse  which  follows  the  account  of  the  symbolic 
dragon  (v.  4),  the  prophet  says,  And  I  saw  thrones^  and 
they  sat  upon  them^  and  judgment  ruas  given  unto  them : 
and  I  saxv  the  soids  of  them^  that  were  beheaded  for  the  wit' 
ness  of  fesus^  and  for  the  word  of  God,  and  which  had  not 
xvorshipped  the  beast,  neither  his  image,  neither  had  received 
his  mark  upon  their  foreheads,  or  in  their  hands;  and  they 
lived^*  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years. 

After  observing  from  Dr.  Lancaster,  that  a  thro7ie  is  the 
symbol  of  government  or  power,  I  shall  again  cite  the  first 
clause  af  the  verse,  as  translated  by  Mr.  Wakefield  :  and  I 
saw  thrones,  to  the  sitters  on  xvhich  judgment  rvas  given. 
'  What  can  this  mean,'  says  Dr.  Lightfoot, '  but  power  and 
authority  to  be  magistrates  and  judges.^'.'  To  the  same 
purport  Mr.  Lowman.  This  '  figurative  description  seems 
to  intimate  order  and  government  in  this  kingdom  of  Christ, 
that  some  were  to  have  judgment  given  unto  them,  or  to  be 
raised  to  the  authority  of  magistrates  in  it.  This,  as  all 
other  governments,  was  to  be  made  up  of  governors  and 
governed.'  yudgment  rvas  given  unto  them.  '  ^Y  jw^g- 
ment^  says  Vitringa,  '  here  without  doubt  is  understood 
the  office  and  dignity  of  a  judge.  John  hath  imitated  the 
expression  of  Daniel,  who  says  the  judgment  saf^ :  i.  e. 
judges  were  invested  Avith  the  power  of  pronouncing  sen- 
tence, and  adorned  with  the  dignity  and  office  of  judges. — 
But  judgment  involves  and  carries  with  it  the  idea  of  go- 
vernment, as  De  Launay  has  very  well  observed  on  this 
place  ;  for  to  judge  in  the  style  of  the  Old  Testament  is  to 
governJ*  Who  the  persons  are,  who  hereafter  shall  govern, 
is  not,  however,  stated  by  St.  John ;  and  the  reason  is  this, 
says  Vitringa  :  he  expected,  that  his  readers  would  com- 
pare what  he  says  with  the  parallel  place   in  Daniel,  from 

13  See  Daubuz,  p.  917. 

14  Mr.  Walcefield  translates,  and  thev  came  to  life, 

15  Vol.  II.  p.  1058.  16  VII.  10. 


CHAP.  XXXI.  3ol 

whom  we  learn,  that  government  will  at  length  be  admi. 
nistered  by  men  of  religion  and  of  probity. 

The  parallel  places  occur  in  ch.  vii.  Some  of  them  have 
already  been  brought  forward,  and  shall  not  be  repeated ; 
but  verses  18  and  22  have  not  yet  been  alleged.  That  the 
saints  of  the  most  High  shall  take  the  kingdom^  and  possess 
the  kingdom  for  ever^  is  the  declaration  of  Daniel  in  v.  18  ; 
and  in  v.  22  he  says,  judgment  was  given  to  the  saints  of 
the  most  High  ;  and  the  time  came,  that  the  saints  possessed 
thekingdom.  Still  more  perspicuous  is  v.  27",  where  it  is  said, 
that  DOMINION  shall  be  given  unto  the  people  of  the  saints  of  the 
most  High.  At  length  Eijrope,  and  afterwards  the  world 
at  large,  will  be  governed  and  inhabited  by  men  of  pure 
morals  and  uncorrupted  Christianity.  Such  at  least  will  be 
the  character  of  a  decided  majority.  To  these  passages  of 
Daniel  St.  Paul,  says  Vitringa,  manifestly  refers,  where  he 
says,  do  ye  not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the  xvorld^'^. 
That  is,  says  Dr.  Lightfoot,  '  know  ye  not,  that  there  shall 
be  a  Christian  magistracy.'  This  is  probably  the  true  in- 
terpretation :  but  what  particular  period,  and  what  descrip- 
tion of  persons,  does  the  reader  conceive,  the  doctor  re- 
gards as  here  designated  by  the  apostle  ? — -The  princes  and 
other  men  in  power,  who  have  plundered,  or  governed,  the 
European  world  for  these  last  fourteen  or  fifteen   centu- 


ries 


18  \ 


17  I.  Cor.  VI.  2. 

18  See  Lightfoot's  Works,  vol.  II.  p.  1058.  This  is  from  a  complemen- 
tary sermon  preaclied  at  the  Hei-tfbrd-Asslzes.  A  passage  or  two  from  it 
may  not  be  unentertaining-.  '  And  now,  my  Lords  and  Gentlemen,  you 
may  see  your  own  picture  in  the  g-lass  of  the  text ;  for  you  are  of  the  num- 
ber of  those  of  whom  it  speaketh.  In  it,  you  may  see  yourselves,  imbench- 
ed,  commissioned,  and  your  work  put  into  your  hands.'  A  little  farther 
he  asks,  «  what  sober  man  does  or  can  deny,  kingship  and  '  magistracy  to 
be  of  Christ's  ordaining  ,•'  but  he  discreetly  declares  himself  unwi!i;:.g,  *  to 
vuidervalue  the  judgment  of  any  in  the  congregation  so  far,  as  to  think,  this 
gi-e?t  and  important  tj'uth  needs  any  proof,  to  him.'  In  his  catalogue  of 
the  principal  gospel-mercies,  he  accordii:gly  omits  not  to  insci  L  Clu-istian 
kings  and  rulers  :  and,  in  evidence  of  the  fact,  appeals  to  tliat  patriotic 
prince  and  pious  Chiistian,  Charles  II ;  who  accordingl}',  with  exquisite 


352  CHAP.    XXXI. 

In  the  xith  chapter  of  the  Apocalypse  we  peruse  the  ac- 
count of  the  figurative  resurrection  of  the  inhabitants  be- 
longing to  the  Tenth  Part  of  the  symbolic  city.  In  ch.  xx. 
we  read  of  the  resurrection  of  those,  who  had  been  op- 
pressed and  persecuted  by  the  beast%  which  description 
differs  from  the  other,  in  being  of  a  general  kind,  and  un- 
restricted to  any  particular  country.  That  this  also  is  figu- 
rative, Dr.  Whitby  has  largely,  and,  in  my  opinion,  deci- 
sively proved.  I  repeat  the  words  of  St.  John,  And  I  saw 
the  souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Je- 
sus^ and  for  the  word  of  God^  and  which  had  not  worship- 
ped the  beast^  neither  his  image,  neither  had  received  his 
mark  upon  their  foreheads^  or  in  their  hands  ;  and  they  lived 
and  reigned  "with  Christ  a  thousand  years. 

It  has,  says  Mr.  Lowman,  been  correctly  observed,  *  that 
all  these  expressions  may  very  well  be  understood  in  a  figu- 
rative sense.  The  soids  of  them,  xvhich  were  beheaded  for 
the  witness  of  fesus,  and  which  had  not  worshipped  the 
beast,  may  easily,  according  to  the  manner  of  prophetic  lan- 
guage, signify  persons  of  like  spirit  and  temper  with  them, 
of  like  faith,  patience,  constancy,  and  zeal. — It  is  a  very 
easy  and  natural  figure,  as  well  as  very  common  in  this  book 
of  prophecy,  to  describe  persons  by  the  names  of  such, 
whose  tempers  and  characters  they  imitate  and  follow. 
Thus   the  names   of  Sodom,  Egypt,   and  Babylon,  are   so 

propriety,  has  been  recently  placed  (in  a  well-executed  statue),  in  the 
centre  of  the  Royal  Exchange,  as  at  once  an  apt  specimen  of  the  past  kings 
of  England,  and  an  exemplary  model  for  their  future  imitation.  '  We  need 
not,'  says  Dr.  Lightfoot,  '  go  far  for  proof  of  this. — The  universal  joy  and 
acclamations  of  all  tlie  nation,  upon  the  happy  restoring  of  his  sacred  ma- 
jesty, speaks  the  sense  and  attestation  of  the  whole  nation,  nay  of  the  tlu'ee 
nations,  unto  the  truth,  and  their  sensibleness  of  this  mercy.  The  shout 
of  a  king,  of  a  most  christian  king,  was  among  them.'  But,  in  justice  to 
this  celebrated  rabbinical  doctor,  it  should  be  observed,  that  this  discourse 
was  preached  in  1660,  the  year  of  Charles's  elevation  to  the  throne. 

19  Johnston  of  Holywood,  speaking  of  these  two  passages,  and  against 
the  literal  resurrection  of  the  mai'tyrs,  asks,  whether  it  is  *  not  contrary 
to  all  the  rules  of  just  criticism,  to  understand  two  similar  descriptions  in 
the  same  book,  in  opposite,  or  even  not  in  similar  senses  ?' 


CHAP.    XXXI.  353 

often  ascribed  to  Rome,  on  account  she  nearly  resembled 
them  in  corruption,  pride,  and  cruelty.'  '  The  true  mean- 
ing of  this  symbolical  representation,'  says  Dr.  Johnston  of 
Holy  wood,  '  is  this  :  at  that  period,  the  world  shall  be  peo- 
pled with  men  of  the  same  spirit  and  character,  with  the 
real  martyrs  of  Christ ;  with  men,  who  like  them,  shall  call 
no  man  on  earth  master  in  matters  of  religion  ;  who,  free 
from  the  fetters  of  superstition  and  idolatry,  and  regarding 
the  sacred  rights  of  conscience,  shall  regulate  their  faith, 
worship  and  conduct,  by  the  infallible  standard  of  the  word 
of  God.  Men  of  this  character  shall  in  succession  live  on 
earth,  and  enjoy  a  state  of  great  purity  and  joy.'  The 
martyrs  may  also  be  said  to  live  and  reign  with  Christ, 
'  on  account  of  the  very  high  but  unsuperstitious  respect, 
which  the  inhabitants  of  that  age  shall  pay  to  their  memo- 
ries, and  the  w^arm  gratitude,  which  they  shall  feel  for  those 
good  and  undaunted  men,  who,  adhering  to  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  and  the  word  of  God,  at  the  expence  of  their  fame, 
fortunes,  liberty  and  lives,  were  the  intelligent  and  volun- 
tary instruments,  in  the  hand  of  God,  of  transmitting^  to 
them — that  divine  religion,  which  they  enjoy  in  such  pu- 
rity, peace,  and  plenty.'  With  respect  to  the  prophet's  ex- 
pression, says  Mr.  Lowman,  that  they  shall  reign  xuitli 
Christy  it  '  may  well  beunderstood  in  a  figurative  sense,  as 
we  are  said  to  be  crucijiedrvith  Clirist^  and  to  live  xvith  him; 
or  as  Christ  himself  is  said  to  live  in  Ui\  Gal.  ii.  20.' 

Without  citing  anj^  more  passages  from  the  xxth  chapter 
of  the  Apocalypse,  or  alleging  any  more  extracts  illustra- 
tive of  the  words  which  were  last  quoted,  I  shall  refer  those, 
who  may  be  disposed  minutely  to  examine  this  part  of  the 
prophecy,  to  Lowman  and  Johnston,  to  Brenius^°,  Vitringa, 
and  Whitby,  v^'hose  opinions  on  the  figurative  import  of  this 
prediction  coincide,  and  are  expi-essed  at  considerable 
length  :  and  I  shall  here  only  add  what  has  already  been 
stated^',  that  a  symbolic  resurrection,  according  to  the  Old 

20  In  Apoc.  and  in  his  treatise  De  Regno  Eccl.  Glor.  Pic.  10. 

21  See  vol.  I.  p.  107,  108. 

VOL'.  II.  Y  y 


3^4  CHAP.  XXXI. 

Testament,  and  to  the  Oriental  Oneirocritics,  '  signifies  a 
recovery  of  such  rights  and  liberties  as  have  been  taken 
away".' 

From  the  xxth  chapter  of  the  Apocalypse,  I  pass  on  to 
the  first  verse  of  the  succeeding  chapter,  which  contains 
sjTnbols  of  a  well-known  import,  and  is  thus  expressed  : 
And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  Jietv  earth  :  for  the^rst  hea- 
ven and  the  Jirst  earth  xuere  passed  away  ;  and  there  -was 
no  more  sea^^. 

Previouslv  to  entering  into  an  inquiry  on  the  significa- 
tion of  the  several  symbols,  we  are  struck  with  the  general 
air  of  this  passage  as  expressive  and  beautiful.  A  remark 
of  the  celebrated  Crellius  upon  it  may  with  this  view  be 
quoted.  '  If,'  says  he,  '  after  the  most  severe  servitude, 
by  which  the  human  race  has  been  oppressed,  golden  liberty 
should  follow  ;  if,  after  the  thickest  darkness  of  ignorance, 
the  clearest  light  of  truth  should  arise ;  if,  after  a  mighty 
contest,  and  calamities  not  to  be  calculated,  great  joy  and 
a  most  happy  state  of  mankind  should  succeed ;  then  the 
face  of  all  things  will  appear  changed,  and,  whilst  before 
they  seemed  to  mourn,  they  will  afterwards  appear  to  smile, 
so  that  the  heaven  and  the  earth  will  seem  to  have  under- 
gone  a  change,  and  to  have  assumed  a  diflferent  counte- 
nance**,' 

'  The  earth^  it  has  been  observed,  (I  am  quoting  the 
words  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton)  signifies  *  the  inferior  peo- 
ple^^  j'  and  the  reason,  as  assigned  by  Dr.  Lancaster,  is 
this,  '  In  the  symbolical  language,  the  natural  world  repre- 

22  Dr.  Lancaster.  Mat.  Henry,  in  agreement  with  this,  says,  that  the 
4th  verse  of  the  xxth  ch.  of  the  Apocalj-pse,  if  figuratively  interpreted, 
signifies,  '  they  were  in  a  civil  and  political  sense  dead,  and  had  a  politi- 
cal resurrection  ;  their  liberties  and  privileges  were  revived  and  restored.' 

23  That  this  passage  is  to  be  figuratively  understood,  and  applied  to  the 
future  state  of  the  world,  has  long  been  a  received  opinion.  Among  other 
early  writers,  who  maintained  it,  and  who  might  be  specified,  were  Joa- 
chim of  Calabria  in  tlie  twelfth,  and  Ubertinus  in  the  fourteenth,  century. 

24  Crellii  Opera,  1656,  vol.  II.  p.  373. 

25  P.  16.  See  the  same  observ'ation  in  Made,  p.  763  ;  en  I  in  Vitringa 
in  Apoc.  VI.  14. 


CHAP.  XXXI,  355 

sents  the  political :  the  heaven,  sun,  and  luminaries,  repre- 
sent the  governing  part,  and  consequently  the  earth  must 
represent  the  part  governed,  submitting,  and  inferior.'  Of 
this  passage  the  meaning  is  plain  and  unequivocal.  The  old 
heaven^  the  old  governments,  are  removed  away  ;  and,  what 
is  the  natural  consequence  of  this,  the  old  earth  also  passes 
away,  i.  e.  the  great  body  of  the  people,  which  were  involved 
in  ignorance,  penury,  and  wretchedness,  are  gradually  chang- 
ed, and,  at  length,  succeeded  by  those  of  a  far  different  cha- 
racter^*. And  as  the  latter  change  cannot  be  accomplished 
without  a  wise  system  of  education  being  adopted,  this  is 
necessarily  presupposed.  So  clear  does  the  meaning  of 
this  interesting  verse  appear  to  be,  that  I  shall,  perhaps,  be 
charged  with  the  unnecessary  introduction  of  the  following 
quotation.  It  is,  however,  from  a  writer  of  very  high  au- 
thority. *  The  old  heaven  and  earth^  says  Daubuz,  *  are 
removed  to  make  way  to  a  7iexv  heaven  and  new  earthy  that 
is,  to  a  NEW  GOVERNMENTS^  and  a  NEW  PEOPLE^*,  as  we  have 
shewn  before  these  symbols  signif}^  Now  I  say,  that  the 
removal  of  the  old  heaven  and  earthy  and  the  introduction  of 
the  new  heaven  and  earthy  are  symbols  of  a  prophecy, 
which  has  not  its  accomplishment  in  a  sudden  revolution, 
or  moment,  but  in  progress  of  time. — When  the  Holy 
Ghost  represents  any  thing  by  some  single  and  entire  sign 


26  That  the  earth  is  a  S3mbol,  having  two  sig-nifications,  has  befoi-e  been 
remarked.  Tlie  sordid  and  antichi-istian  part  of  mankind  it  sometimes 
signifies.  Which  of  these  meaning's  is  to  be  chosen,  the  context,  there- 
fore, must,  in  every  case,  detei-mine.  However,  at  the  period  spoken  of 
in  this  passage,  tlie  symbolic  earth  will  pass  away  in  both  senses. 

27  That  the  reader  may  be  more  certain  of  this  inierpretation,  I  refer 
him  to  the  following  passages  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  where  the  word 
heaven  occuvs,  to  ch.  VI.  13,  14;  VIII.  10;  IX.  1;  XI.  12;  XII.  1,4,  7, 
8  ;  XIII.  13  ;  XVI.  21 ;  and  XIX.  17.  That  in  all  these  places  it  has  a 
symbolic  and  political  sense,  and  refers  to  the  government  in  the  state, 
may  be  seen  in  Daubuz.  This,  indeed,  through  the  ancient  world,  was 
the  established  acceptation  of  this  symbol ;  and  this  is  the  import  annex- 
ed to  it  in  the  Oriental  oneirocritics. 

28  The  words  of  Isalali,  and  the  earth  shall  remove  out  nf  her  place,  cited 
ill  this  vol.  p.  88,  89,  have  a  similar  import. 


356  CHAP.  XXXI. 

or  symbol,  it  is  most  usual  and  proper  to  do  it  in  its  full 
extent  and  entire  settlement.  So  that  this  does  not  exclude 
the  beginnings  thereof,  whilst  it  seems  not  perfect,  but 
supposes  them.'  Does  there  not,  then,  seem  reason  to  con- 
clude, that  the  Jlevolution  in  the  northern  continent  of 
America  is  a  beginning  of  the  new  symbolic  heaven  and 
the  new  symbolic  earth;  and  that  that  of  France,  when  it 
shall  rise  superior  to  the  intrigues  and  turbulence  of  do- 
mestic factions,  and  produce  its  genuine  effects,  under  the 
mild  influence  of  peace,  and  amid  the  consciousness  of  na- 
tional security,  will,  at  length,  deserve  to  be  viewed  in  the 
same  favorable  light  ?  Faint  is  the  dawn,  which  ushers  in 
the  day,  and  often  deformed  by  dense  and  widely  extended 
mists.  So  also,  in  almost  every  human  good,  of  a  compli- 
cate and  extensive  kind,  the  beginnings  are  necessarily  de- 
fective, and  often  clouded  by  a  large  mixture  of  evil.  They 
do  not,  hoAvever,  on  that  account,  cease  to  be  highly  valu- 
able ;  and  to  him,  who  turns  his  eye  from  the  present  scene 
of  momentary  good  or  evil,  and  traces  effects  from  their 
causes,  they  do  not,  on  that  account,  cease  to  be  a  ground  of 
congratulation  and  rejoicing. 

But  I  return  to  Daubuz,  '  And  there  xvas  no  more  sea. 
The  sea'''^,  as  has  been  frequently  observed  before,  signifies 
multitudes  in  commotion  and  war. — Thus  this  symbol  sig- 
nifies here,  that  in  this  nexv  heaven  and  earthy  or  kingdom  of 
yesus  Christ  now  completed,  there  shall  be  no  tyranny,  op- 
pression, violence,  war,  shedding  of  blood,  or  any  other 
turbulent  wickedness.' 

The  predictions  of  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  prophets 
mutually  illustrate  each  other.  Leaving,  therefore,  for  the 
present,  those  which  occur  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  I  shall 
pass  on  to  some  of  those,  which  are  found  in  the  Old  Tes- 


29  The  expression  is  plainly  symbolic:  and  not  to  mention  the  extreme 
improbability  of  tlie  sea  in  a  literal  sense  being  annihilated,  or  disappear- 
ing', at  the  commencement  of  tlie  millennium,   we  read  of  it  (XX.  13)  as  ^ 
long-  afterwards  existing",  even  at  the  Day  of  Judgment,  and  as  Xh.cn  gimng 
::t  the  dead  v.-hich  iccrc  in  it. 


GHAP.    XXXI.  357 

lament,  and  delineate  in  perspicuous  oi-  in  glowing  lan- 
guage the  same  happy  perigd. 

From  the  concluding  chapter  of  Joel  a  passage  has  al- 
ready been  quoted^°,  in  which  it  is  foretold,  that  the  sym- 
bolic su7i^  and  771  oo?iy  and  stars  shall  be  darkened;  and  I 
now  give  a  part  of  the  verse  which  follows,  as  explained  by 
Dr.  Wells.  '  A7ul  it  shall  come  to  pass  i/i  that  day^  or 
during  the  happy  state  of  the  millennium,  the  saints  on 
earth  shall  enjoy  the  greatest  plenty  of  all  things  requisite 
to  this  life,  insomuch  that  the  vines  even  on  the  mountains 
shall  yield  such  plenty  of  wine  yearly,  that  it  may  be  said, 
the  7noimtains  shall  in  a  manner  drop  doxvn  new  wine  yearly, 
and  the  cattle  that  feed  even  on  the  hills  shall  give  so  much 
milk,  that  it  may  be  said  that  the  hills  fiow  xvith  77iilP\^  To 
the  same  purpose  speaks  Mr.  Lowth. 

In  a  similar  strain  is  one  of  the  concluding  verses  of  the 
prophet  Amos,  which  verses,  says  Mr.  Lowth,  '  ought  to 
be  understood  of  the  happy  state  of  the  millennium.'  Be- 
hold^ the  daijs  come^  saith  the  Lord^  that  the  plowma7i  shall 
overtake  the  reaper^  a7id  the  treader  of  grapes  him  that 
soxveth  seed;  and  the  7nou7itai7is  shall  drop  sweet  wine,  and 
all  the  hills  shall  melt^^.  Here  also  I  cite  the  paraphrase  of 
Dr.  Wells.  '  Behold  the  days  of  the  millennium  or  reign 
of  Christ  and  his  saints  on  earth  come^  saith  the  Lord, 
when  there  shall  be  such  plenty,  that  the  plow77ia7i  shall 
ovei-take  the  reaper^  i.  e.  they  shall  not  get  in  all  their  har- 
vest, till  just  before  it  be  time  to  plow  again  for  the  next 
year :  a7id  the  treader  of  grapes  hir7i  that  soxveth  seed^  i.  e. 
by  the  time  they  have  sown  the  winter  corn  seed,  their  vin- 
tage shall  be  ready :  a7id  the  77iountains  shall  drop  sxveet 
wi/* ,  a7id  all  the  hills  shall  melt^^,  or  flow  with  milk.' 


30  See  vol.  I.  p.  268,  269,  and  vol.  II.  p.  211,  212. 

31  III.  18.  32  IX.  13. 

33  This  word  is,  however,  susceptible  of  a  different  interpretation. 
•  Tlie  Chaldee  Pai-aphrase,  tlie  Septuag-int,  and  Vulgat  Latin,  understand 
the  Hebrew  verb,  translated  ineit,  of  being  cultivated,  the  stony  ground 
being  made  softer  by  plowing  and  manuring.'     Mr.  Lowth. 


^-5^8  •  CHAP.  XXXI. 

Lactantius,  having  these  passages  among  others  in  his 
eye,  and  interpreting  thenx  according  to  the  letter,  says,  '■  the 
earth  will  open  its  fertility,  and  produce  fruits  sponta- 
neously and  in  the  greatest  abundance ;  the  rocks  of  the 
mountains  will  sweat  with  honey;  wines  will  run  down  in 
rivulets ;  and  the  rivers  will  flow  with  milk.  In  short,  the 
world  itself  will  rejoice,  and  the  whole  face  of  nature  bfe 
glad. — Lions  and  calvfes  will  stand  together  at  the  stall : 
the  wolf  will  not  seize  upon  the  sheep,  nor  the  dog  follow 
the  chace:  hawks  and  eagles  will  become  harmless,  and 
the  infant  will  play  with  the  serpent^'*.'  The  rhetorician  of 
Nicomedia,  having  uttered  these  and  similar  expectations, 
then  quotes  those  exquisite  lines  of  the  Roman  poet,  which 
follow,  as  if  impressed  with  the  belief  of  their  future  literal 
accomplishment. 

Cedet  et  ipse  mari  vector ;  nee  nautica  pinus 

Mutabit  merces  ;  omnis  feret  omnia  tellus. 

Non  rastros  patietur  humus,  non  vinea  falcem. 

Robustus  quoque  jam  tauris  juga  solvet  arator. 

Tunc  etiam  molli  flavescet  campus  arista  ; 

Incultisque  rubens  pendebit  sentibus  uva ; 

Et  durse  quercus  sudabunt  roscida  mella. 

Nee  varios  discet  mentiri  lana  colores  ; 

Ipse  sed  in  pratis  aries  jam  suave  rubenti 

Murice,  jam  croceo  mutabit  vellera  luto. 

Sponte  sua  sandyx  pascentes  vestiet  agnos. 

Ipsae  lacte  domum  referent  distenta  capellfe 

Uberaj  nee  magnos  metuent  armenta  leones. 
Though  the  reader  is  doubtless  of  opinion,  that  Lactan- 
tius has  wandered  sufficiently  far  from  probability ;  yet  he 
will  soon  see,  that,  upon  this  very  subject,  and  by  an  earlier 
writer,  he  has  been  far  out- stripped  in  the  marvellous,  Ire- 
naeus  assures  us,  that  '  the  days  shall  come,  in  which  there 
will  be  vines,  each  bearing  ten  thousand  branches  ;  and  on 
every  one  of  these  branches  there  will  be  ten  thousand 

34  Lib.  VII,  c.  24. 


CHAP.    XXXI.  359 

lesser  branches ;  and  on  every  one  of  these  ten  thousand 
twigs  ;  and  on  every  one  of  these  twigs  ten  thousand  dus- 
ters of  grapes ;  and  on  each  separate  ckister  ten  thousand 
grapes ;  and  every  one  of  these  grapes,  when  pressed,  will 
yield  twenty-five  metretse"  of  wine.  And  when  any  one 
shall  take  hold  of  one  of  these  sacred  boughs,  another  will 
cry  out,  I  am  a  better  bunch,  take  me,  by  my  means  bless 
the  Lord^^' 

But,  though  there  is  no  reason  for  believing,  that  plants 
and  fruit-trees  will  become  supernaturallv  prolific  ;  yet  it 
may  justly  be  expected,  that  the  arts  of  agriculture  and  gar- 
dening will  be  improved  beyond  the  conception  of  present 
times  ;  and  that,  in  consequence,  all  the  more  valuable  pro- 
ductions of  the  vegetable  world  will  surpass  such  as  are 
now  cultivated,  with  respect  to  beauty  or  flavor,  size  or 
quantity. 

By  Micah  also  the  arrival  of  this  happy  period  is  fore- 
told. In  the  last  days  it  shall  come  to  pass^  says  the  nro- 
phet,  that  the  strong  nations  shall  beat  their  swords  into 
ploivshares^  and  their  spears  into  pruning-hooks :  nation  shall 
not  lift  up  a  sword  against  nation^  neither  shall  they  learn 
xvar  any  more.  But  they  shall  sit  every  man  under  his  vine 
and  under  his  Jig  tree;  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid; 
for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  hath  spoken  it^'^.  Were 
there  no  prediction  at  all  in  the  prophets  of  the  destruction 
of  the  antichristian  monarchies  that  now  exist,  from  this 
single  passage  of  Micah  it  might,  I  think,  safely  be  in- 
ferred. Whilst  they  subsist,  is  it  possible,  that  wars  should 
cease  throughout  the  world? 

That  tranquility  and  security,  that  mildness,  humanity, 
and  concord,  which  will  hereafter  flow  from  the  amended 
morals  of  mankind,  are  beautifully  represented  by  the  evan- 


55  That  is,  says  Dr.  Whitby  (on  the  Mil!,  ch.  I.)  according-  to  the  mcst 
moderate  computation,  275  gallons. 

36  Lib.  V.  c.  33. 

37  IV,  1,  3,  4. 


360  CHAP.    XXXI. 

gelical  prophet,  when  he  says  (xl,  6),  that  the  xvolf  shall 
drucll  with  the  lamb;  and  the.  leopard  shall  lie  doxun  with 
the  kid;  and  the  calf  and  the  young  Hon  and  the  fatting- 
together  ;  and  a  little  child  shall  lead  theni^^.  Lest  any  one, 
says  Vitringa,  should  stupidly  annex  to  this  a  literal  accep- 
tation, the  prophet  has  himself  supplied  us  with  a  key  for 
interpreting  it^',  adding  immediately  after  in  v.  9.  They 
shall  not  hurt  7ior  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain'^° ;  for 
the  earth  shall  be  fidl  of  the  knoxvlcge  of  the  Lord^  as  the 
waters  cover  the  sea. 

The  Ixvth  chapter  also  of  Isaiah  relates  not  only  to  the 
future  improved  state  of  the  Jewish  nation,  but  also  to  the 
millennium*'  and  of  the  state  of  the  world  in  general.  That 
the  conclusion  of  it  paints  in  the  most  beautiful  and  in  the 
strongest  colors  the  felicity  of  future  times,  and  their  ex- 
emption from  despotism  and  from  war,  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  that  part  of  the  chapter  will  shew.  Behold^  I 
create  new  heavens^  and  a  nexv  earth;  and  the  former  ones 
they  shall  not  reiyiember^  nor  shall  they  come  into  their  minds 
any  more  ;  but  they  shall  rejoice  and  exult  iti  the  age  to  come^ 
zvhich  I  create. — No  more  shall  there  be  an  infant  short- 
lived;  nor  an  old  man  who  shall  not  have  fidflled  his  days : 
for  he^  xvho  shall  die  at  a  hundred  years ^  shall  die  a  boy  ;  and 
the  sinner^  xvho  shall  die  at  a  hundred  years^  shall  be  deemed 
accursed.  And  they  shall  build  houses^  and  shall  inhabit 
them  :  and  they  shall  plant  vineyards^  and  shall  eat  the 
fruits  of  them.  They  shall  not  build,  and  another  inhabit ; 
they  shall  not  plant,  and  another  eat :  for  as  the  days  of  a 
tree,  shall  be  the  days  of  my  people :  and  they  shall  xvear 
out  the  xvorks  of  their  oxvn  hands.  My  chosen  shallnot  la- 
bor in  vain;  nor  shall  they  generate  a  short-lived  race, — 


38  Among'  the  early  commentators,  who  have  observed  that  these  words 
are  to  be  figuratively  understood,  are  Grotius,  Munsterus,  and  Forerius. 

39  See  the  same  observation  in  Mr.  Lowth  in  loc. 

40  '  That  is,'  says  Dr.  Lancaster,  •  in  all  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiali, 
which  shall  then  reach  all  over  the  world.' 

41  See  tliis  observed  by  Mr.  Lowth,  Mat.  Henry,  Dr.  Wells,  and  Vi- 
trinsra. 


CHAP.  XXXI.  361 

The  ivolf  and  the  lamb  shall  feed  together ;  and  the  lion 
shall  eat  straw  as  the  ox  :  but^  as  for  the  ser petit ^  dust  shall 
be  his  food.  They  shall  not  hurt^  nor  shall  they  destroy  in 
all  my  holy  77iountain^  saith  Jehovah*''^. 

A  few  observations,  illustrative  of  this  important  pas- 
sage, it  will  be  proper  to  add. 

As  the  prophet  employs  the  word  chosen^  it  may  not  be 
inexpedient  to  introduce  the  following  extract  from  Mr. 
Taylor  of  Norwich.  '  The  state,  membership,  privileges, 
honors,  and  relations,  of  professed  Christians,  particularly 
of  believing  Gentiles,  are  expressed  by  the  same  phrases 
with  those  of  the  ancient  Jewish  church  ;  and,  therefore, 
unless  we  admit  a  very  strange  abuse  of  words,  must  con- 
vey the  same  general  ideas  of  our  present  state,  member- 
ship, privileges,  honors,  and  relations  to  God,  as  we  are 
professed  Christians.  For  instance,  as  God  chose  his  an- 
cient people  the  Jews,  and  they  were  his  chosen  and  elect  ; 
so  now  the  whole  body  of  Christians,  Gentiles  as  well  as 
Jews,  are  admitted  to  the  same  honor  ;  as  they  are  selected 
from  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  taken  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,  for  the  knowlege,  worship,  and  obedience  of  God,  in 
hopes  of  eternal  life'*^' 

As  this  world  will  still  be  a  state  of  trial,  it  will  conse- 
quently be  still  chequered  with  some  shades  of  vice  and 


42  LXV.  17,  18,  20,  22,  21,  23,  25.  This  is  from  Mr.  Dodson's  amend- 
ed Translation  of  Isaiah,  which,  in  these  verses,  vai'ies  but  little  from  that 
of  bp.  Lowth. 

43  Among  other  similar  passages,  which  Mr.  Taylor  cites  as  illustrative 
of  the  assertion  in  the  text,  ai-e  the  following.  '  Rom.  VIIl,  33,  Who  shall 
lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of  Gocfs  elect  ?  Eph.  1.  4,  According  as  he  hath 
CHOSEN  tM  (Gentiles,  chap.  II.  11)  in  him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
that  we  should  be  holy,  and  without  blame  before  him  in  love-  Col.  III.  12> 
jPut  on,  therefore,  as  the  elect  of  God,  holy  and  beloved,  bowels  of  mercies t. 
2  Thess.  II.  13.  Bnt  we  are  bound  to  give  thanks  to  God  always  for  you,  brc 
thren,  beloved  of  the  Lord,  because  God  hath  from,  the  beginning  chosen  j;o«  to 
salvation,  through  sanctif  cation  of  the  spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth.  Tit.  I.  1. 
Paul,  a  servant  of  God,  and  an  apostle  of^esus  Christ,  according  to  the  faith  of 
God's  ELECT.'     Taylor  on  the  Romans,  Intr.  p.  31. 

Vol.  II.  z  z 


36^  ,  GHAP.  XXXI., 

some  remains  of  infelicity.  Accordingly  Isaiah  says,  and 
the  sinner  J  who  shall  die  at  a  hundred  years^  shall  be  deemed 
accursed. 

Dr.  John  Edwards,  a  learned  divine  of  the  English 
church,  after  declaring,  that  '  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  of, 
that  there  shall  be  bodily  strength  and  vigor,  in  an  unusual 
degree,'  to  those  who  live  in  the  millenniary  period,  adds, 
'  the  people  of  those  times  shall  be  long-lived :  which  I 
gather  from  Isai.  Ixv.  20.  There  shall  be  no  more  thence  aii 
infant  of  days  ^  nor  an  old  man  that  hath  not  filed  his  days'^*.'* 
That  is,  says  Mr.  Lowth,  *  from  thoice,  or  from  that  time, 
there  shall  be  no  untimely  deaths,  either  of  infants  who  are 
abortive,  or  never  grow  up  to  man's  estate  ;  or  of  old  men 
who  do  not  live  out  the  full  term  of  life*^'  This  proposi- 
tion, it  appears  reasonable  to  understand,  as  being  a  general 
one,  and  liable  to  exceptions  ;  for,  though  premature  deaths 
may  hereafter  be  of  rare  occurrence,  the  law  of  our  nature 
forbids  that  they  should  not  sometimes  happen. 

The  clause,  which  occurs  in  the  subsequent  part  of  the 
same  verse,  does,  however,  when  viewed  through  the  me- 
dium of  our  common  translation,  strongly  countenance  the 
idea,  that  this  law  -will  be  suspended,  and  that  the  human 
frame  will  hereafter  be  differently  constituted.  But  this 
medium  is,  I  apprehend,  false  and  fallacious.  That  the 
child  shall  die  an  hundred  years  old"^^  is  the  incoherent  lan- 
guage of  the  prophet,  according  to  that  version.  That  he^ 
xvho  shall  die  at  a  hundred  years^  shall  die  a  boy^  is  the  im- 
proved translation   of  Mr.   Dodson**^.     But  the  words,  I 


44  Hist,  of  all  the  Dispens-  of  Relig.  vol.  II,  p.  7'43- 

45  See  the  same  observations  in  Dr.  Wells. 

46  The  following'  is  a  method  of  evading  the  difficulty,  but  it  is  not  sa- 
tisfactory. '  Some,'  says  Mat.  Henry,  '  understand  it  of  children,  that  in 
their  childhood  are  so  eminent  for  wisdom  and  grace,  and  by  death  nipped 
in  their  blossom,  that  they  may  be  said  to  die  a  hundred  years  old^  More 
rational  is  the  explanation  of  Vatablus.  The  expression  is  an  hyperbole, 
and  it  signifies,  that^mankind  shall  live  very  long. 

47  Similar  is  bishop  Lowth's  translation.  For,  he  that  dieth  at  an  huiidreri 
jears,  shall  die  a  boy. 


CHAP.  XXXI.  363 

conceive,  should  have  been  rendered,  he^  xvho  shall  die  at  a 
hundred  years^  shall  die  a  young  man'^^ ;  and  the  meaning  is, 
so  great  will  be  the  age  to  which  men  will  frequently  attain 
in  the  millenniary  period,  that  he,  who  dies  at  a  hundred 
years  old,  will  be  regarded  but  as  a  person  arrived  at  ma- 
turity*^  The  expressions  of  the  Jewish  prophets,  it  may 
here  be  remarked,  are  not  always  to  be  understood  in  their 
strict  and  literal  sense.  Thus  the  prediction  in  the  con- 
cluding verse  of  the  present  chapter,  that  the  rvolf  and  the 
lamb  shall  feed  together^  that  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  as  the 
ox^  and  that,  as  for  the  serpent^  dust  shall  be  his  food^  is 
explained  by  the  ablest  commentators  with  some  latitude  of 
interpretation.  The  words  are  neither  susceptible  of  a  li- 
teral explication,  nor  do  they,  separately  considered,  con- 
tain any  precise  symbolic  signification.  They  are  exactly 
of  the  same  import  as  a  parallel  passage  in  the  xith  chapter 
of  the  evangelical  prophet,  which  has  been  recently  cited. 
The  longevity  of  those,  who  are  to  live  in  the  millenni- 
ary period,  is  in  two  other  verses  alluded  to.  They  shall 
not^  it  is  said,  geyierate  a  short-lived  race,  but  their  days 
shall  resemble  the  days  of  a  tree.  And  this  important  cir- 
cumstance, the  reader  will  shortly  see,  has  been  declared 
to  be  the  language  of  prophecy,  by  those  who  have  com- 

48  That  the  Hebrew  word,  which  occurs  in  this  place,  may  be  trans- 
lated a  young  tnan  can  admit  of  no  doubt.  It  is  so  translated,  in  our  common 
version,  in  ch.  XIII  of  Isaiah,  v.  18,  in  ch.  II  of  Zachariah,  v.  4,  and  in  va- 
rious other  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  To  the  two  spies,  who  were  sent 
by  Joshua  into  Jericho,  thjs  word  is  applied  (Jos.  VI.  23)  ;  and  it  is 
given  as  a  denomination  of  the  patriarch  Joseph,  at  a  time  when  he  was  28 
years  of  age  (Gen.  XLI.  12).  The  same  Hebrew  word,  in  the  XlXth  ch. 
of  the  book  of  Judges,  when  in  the  feminine  gender,  is  used  six  times  as 
the  appellation  of  a  woman,  who  was  a  concubine;  and  (Ruth  II.  5.)  it  is 
annexed  to  the  name  of  Ruth,  who  had  been  married  at  least  ten  years,  and 
at  the  period  spoken  of  was  a  widow. 

49  Should  the  work,  alluded  to  in  the  advertisement,  be  published,  I 
shall  there  enter  with  some  minuteness  into  the  causes,  which,  it  may  be 
expected,  will  liereafter  be  productive  of  great  health  and  uncommon  lon- 
srevitv. 


364  CHAP.  XXXI. 

mented  on  the  book  of  Revelation,  as  well  as  by  those  who 
have  illustrated  Isaiah. 

Of  the  industrious  part  of  mankind,  at  present,  only  a 
small  part  receive  an  adequate  and  reasonable  compensa- 
tion for  their  labors.  In  rewarding  the  exertions  of  inge- 
nuity or  of  diligence,  no  laws  of  proportion  are  observed, 
no  rules  of  equity  are  attended  to.  In  this  respect,  society 
will  gradually  assume  a  new  aspect.  Those  of  whom  the 
prophet  speaks  are  not  to  labor  in  vain,  but  they  are  to  wear 
out  the  xvorks  of  their  oxvn  hands.  Those  who  build,  and 
those  who  plant,  are  alike  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  their  own 
industry.  Mankind  will  mutually  labor  for  each  other's 
benefit,  and  to  supply  each  other's  wants.  No  longer  will 
a  decided  majority  of  them,  as  is  now  the  case  in  almost 
all  the  civilised  countries  of  the  globe,  lead  a  life  at  once  of 
indigence  and  of  toil ;  whilst  a  few  individuals,  in  every  dis- 
trict, riot  in  luxury  and  splendor,  and,  with  systematic  pro- 
digality, consume  upon  themselves  or  their  families  the  la- 
bors of  hundreds  and  of  thousands. 

After  having  introduced  remarks  on  the  xxth  and  xxist 
chapters  of  the  Apocalypse,  I  shall  now  go  back  to  ch.  vii. 
Nor  need  the  reader  wonder  at  this  ;  for  it  has  already 
been  stated,  and  Mr.  Mede  has  proved  it  beyond  all  con- 
troversy, that  the  Apocalypse  contains  a  number  of  con- 
temporaneous predictions.  And  it  is  the  observation  of  bp, 
Newton,  that  the  latter  part  of  it,  comprising  the  eleven 
last  chapters,  '  is  designed  as  a  supplement  to  the  former, 
to  complete  what  was  deficient,  to  explain  what  was  dubi- 
ous, to  illustrate  what  was  obscure^°.' 

The  complete  overthrow  of  all  antichristian  rule  and  au- 
thority the  prophet  had  described  at  the  close  of  ch.  vi.  in 
his  account  of  the  sixth  seal.  It  is,  therefore,  very  natural, 
and  conformable  to  the  method  of  all  the  prophets,  that,  in 
the  following  chapter,  he  should  pass  on  to  the  description 
of  the  subsequent  state  of  the  world  and  of  the  church.  The 


50  Vol.  III.  p.  188. 


CHAP.  XXXI.  -  365 

representation  which  he  there  gives  is  figurative  through- 
out, in  a  high  degree  sublime,  and  is  strongly  expressive  of 
the  great  holiness  and  felicity,  which  will  hereafter  prevail. 
After  this  I  beheld^  and  lo^  a  great  midtitude^  ivhich  no 
man  could  number^  of  all  nations^  and  kindreds^  and  people^ 
and  tongues^  stood  before  the  throne^  and  before  the  lamby 
clothed  ivith  7vhite  robes^  and  pcdrns  in  their  hands, — Aiid 
one  of  the  elders  ansxvered^^,  saying  unto  nie^  what  are  these 
ivhich  are  arrayed  in  white  robes  ?  And  -whence  came  they  f 
And  I  said  unto  him ^  Sir,  thou  knowest.  And  he  said  unto 
me,  these  are  they  rohich  came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and 
have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  lamb.  Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God, 
and  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his  temple  :  and  he  that  sit- 
teth  on  the  throne  shall  dxvell  among  them.  They  shall  hun- 
ger no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more ;  neither  shall  the  sun, 
light  on  them,  nor  any  heat^^,  Bp.  Newton,  in  agreement 
with  his  explication  of  the  sixth  seal  which  has  already 
been  noticed,  found  himself  under  the  necessity  of  declar- 
ing, that  this  is  a  description  of  the  state  of  the  church  in 
Constantine's  time,  of  the  peace  and  protection  it  should 
enjoy  under  the  civil  powers,  and  of  the  great  accession 
that  should  be  made  to  it  both  of  Jews  and  Gentiles.'  That 
it  is  to  be  understood  of  a  state  of  things  in  this  world,  I 
am  perfectly  ready  to  admit ;  and  acknowlege  the  force  of 
Viti-inga's  observation,  that  we  are  admonished  of  this,  be- 

51  It  is  the  remark  of  Beza  on  tliis  verse,  that  '  he  who  begins  speak- 
ing, is,  in  the  Evangelists,  often  in  this  manner  said  4i;r«xfl<v£.^«<-'  But  since 
the  verb  to  anstxer  has  no  such  acceptation  in  Enghsli,  to  say  that  one  of 
the  elders  atisnuered,  though  what  follows  is  not  a  reply  to  any  question,  is 
a  translation,  manifestly  aukward,  and  calculated  to  embarrass  the  un- 
learned  i-eader.  That  e&7rox.ptv£3-»t  in  various  places  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, signifies  simply  to  speed,  or  to  begin  to  speak,  is  a  point  on  which  the 
critics  are  agreed.  The  words  in  tlie  Greek  are  koh  ci7rey,piB-}}  £/;  ex. 
Tm  7rp£ir\ovTepm,  Pisym  ftto-  Bczas  translation  is,  turn  me  covipellavit  unus 
exillis  senioribus,  dkens  mihi ,-  that  of  Mr.  Wakefield's,  like  Castalio's,  is 
more  brief,  and  one  of  the  eiders  said  unto  me.  Among  the  places  which 
call  for  a  like  alteration  are  Mat.  XI.  25,  and  ZZVIII.  5. 

-52  V.  9,  13—16. 


366  CHAP.  xxxr. 

cause  the  expressions  employed  here  are  perfecdy  similar 
to  those,  by  which  the  Hebrev*^  prophets  had  formerly  paint- 
ed the  future  condition  of  the  Christian  church".  But  no 
past  period  of  time  corresponds  to  the  lofty  symbol  of  the 
apostle.  To  the  fourth  century,  when  the  foundation  of 
every  future  corruption  was  laid,  they  are  doubtless  inap- 
plicable. Surely  the  prelate's  adaptation  of  the  prophetic 
emblems  is  altogether  forced  and  unnatural ;  and,  conceiv- 
ing it  to  be  the  necessary  consequence  of  his  interpretation 
of  the  sixth  seal,  I  cannot  but  regard  it  as  a  very  strong 
argument  against  that  interpretation,  in  addition  to  those  by 
which  it  has  already  been  combated. 

To  prove  that  the  passage  under  consideration  cannot  re- 
late to  the  time  of  Constantine,  I  will  quote  a  passage  from 
the  bishop  of  Bristol's  own  work  against  himself.  '  After 
Constantine,  the  church,'  says  the  prelate  rather  unguard- 
edly in  another  place,  '  was  soon  shaken  and  disturbed  by 
heresies  and  schisms,  by  the  incursions  and  devastations 
of  the  northern  nations,  by  the  conquering  arms  and  pre- 
vailing imposture  of  the  Saracens  and  afterwards  of  the 
Turks,   by  the   corruption,  idolatry,  and  wickedness,  the 


So  See  this  argument  enforced,  and  passages  from  the  Hebrew  prophel-s 
and  the  Apocalypse  contrasted  together  in  opposite  columns,  by  Mr.  Tay- 
lor of  Portsmouth,  in  his  Thoughts  on  the  Grand  Apostacy,  p.  195 — 205.  As 
.some  persons,  however,  from  the  loftiness  of  the  language,  may  possibly 
be  disposed  to  doubt,  whether  the  passage  is  not  ratlier  applicable  to  hea- 
ven than  to  earth  ;  I  will,  for  their  satisfaction,  enumerate  some  of  the 
most  eminent  of  the  commentators,  who  have  conceived  it  to  be  descrip- 
tive of  the  state  of  mankind  in  the  latter.  Snch  are  Grotius  and  Ham- 
mond, Mede,  More,  and  Vitringa,  Goodwin  (p.  55),  Whiston  and  Jurieu, 
Pyle,  Daubuz,  and  Sir  I.  Newton  (p.  313).  But  if  I  am  asked,  whether 
there  be  no  passage  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  indisputably  announcing  a 
future  judgment  or  a  future  state,  I  appeal  to  the  following  verses  (v.  13 
and  14)  in  ch.  XX.  And  I  savi  the  dead,  sinall  and  great,  stand  before  God ; 
and  the  books  ivere  opened  .•  and  another  book  ivas  opened,  ivht'ch  is  the  book  of 
Ufe :  and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things  which  were  written  in  the 
boots,  according  to  their  works.  And  the  sea  ga've  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it  ,• 
and  death  and  hell  (that  is,  the  grave)  gave  up  the  dead  'ahich  were  in  thetn  ■ 
and  they  were  judged  every  man  according  to  their  inorks. 


CHAP.  XXXI.  367 

usurpation,  tyranny,  and  cruelty,  of  the  church  of  Rome".' 
Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  learned  prelate  hesitates 
not  to  maintain,  that  in  the  time  of  Constantino  commenced 
that  happy  period,  spoken  of  by  the  prophet,  when  the  Chris- 
tian church,  consisting  of  men  of  all  nations^  and  kindreds^ 
and  people^  and  tongnes^  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst 
anif  more ;  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them  nor  any  heat, 
but  God  shall  zvipe  axvay  all  tears  from  their  eyes. 

That  this  prophecy  refers  to  the  period,  which  will  suc- 
ceed the  downfal  of  Antichrist,  is  so  obvious,  that  the 
opinion  has  obtained  not  only  the  suffrage  of  many  learned 
moderns ;  but  may  claim  the  sanction  of  the  most  remote 
antiquity.  It  may  be  found  in  the  writings  of  that  cele- 
brated African  Father,  TertuUian,  who  flourished  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  second  century^-. 

That  vast  assemblage  of  persons,  of  whom  the  prophet 
has  drawn  this  symbolic  picture,  appear  arrayed  in  robe's, 
which  have  been  -washed,  and  are  of  a  pure  white.  Palms 
also  they  have  in  their  hands.  Now  '  a  garment,'  says 
Vitringa,  '  is  the  symbol  of  the  condition  or  state  in 
which  any  one  is.'  The  priests  who  sacrificed,  as  well 
among  the  Pagans  as  the  Jews,  were  clothed  in  white^ 
'  Hence,'  says  Dr.  Lancaster,  '  zvhite  garmeyits,  as  being 
worn  upon  solemn  festivals,  were  the  tokens  of  joy  and 
pleasure  ;  as  in  Eccl.  IX.  8  ; — to  be  clothed  in  white  signi- 
fies in  the  prophetic  style  to  be  prosperous,  and  sviccessful, 
and  victorious  ;'  and  '  to  put  07i  clean  garments  after  washing 
signifies  freedom  from  oppression,  care,  and  evil,  together 
with  honor  and  joy.'  Civil  liberty,  and  religious  freedom, 
at  length  attain  an  universal  prevalence  ;  and  the  great  body 
of  Christians  are  emancipated  from  the  shackles  of  usurped 
authority  and  from  the  pressure  of  persecuting  laws.  From 
Dr.  Lancaster  it  may  also  be  added,  that  *  branches  of  palm 
trees  are  the  symbol  of  joy  after  a  victory,  attended  with 
antecedent  sufferings  ;'  and  that  '  hunger  and  thirst  are  the 

54  Vol.  III.  p.  316. 

55  Scorpiace,  adversus  Gnosticos,  c.  ZII. 


368  CHAP.    XXXI. 

symbols  of  affliction.'  Great  had  been  the  sufferings  of 
genuine  Christians  and  of  the  true  friends  of  mankind; 
but,  at  length,  they  are  every  where  victorious  over  their 
enemies. 

They  shall,  it  is  said,  serve  God  in  his  temple,  i.  e.  says 
Vitringa,  '  in  the  communion  of  the  true  church^*'.'  On  the 
clause,  occurring  in  the  next  verse,  neither  shall  the  sun 
light  on  them,  nor  any  heat,  two  or  three  suggestions  may 
be  proposed.  Brief  as  it  is,  but  containing  a  well  known 
symbol",  does  it  not  directly  intimate,  that  the  monarchies 
of  the  world,  as  such,  are  far  from  having  a  salutary  ope- 
ration ;  that,  instead  of  shining  with  a  friendly  warmth, 
they  burn  with  a  pernicious  heat  ?  Will  it  not  by  some  be 
thought  to  imply,  that  the  deliverance  of  mankind  from 
regal  oppression  is  one  of  the  prime  benefits,  which  they 
will  enjoy  in  the  millenniary  state  ?  Since  it  declares,  that 
no  heat  shall  light  upon  them,  perhaps  too  it  may  be  pro- 
nounced to  be  of  a  yet  larger  signification  ;  and  to  contain 
an  assurance,  that  neither  monarchs  will  continue  to  be  a 
bane  to  human  happiness,  nor  any  other  description  of  men 
whatever  will  be  armed  with  a  degree  of  authority,  detri- 
mental to  the  true  interest  of  society. 

Immediately  after  this  animating  description  of  the  me- 
liorated condition  of  mankind,  which  is  represented  as 
already  commenced  at  the  close  of  the  sixth  seal,  the  seventh 
seal  is  opened^*,  a  period  of  great  leirgth,  but  of  which  the 
prophet  has  not  defined  the  extent.  That  the  world  will 
remain  in  the  same  happy  state  of  undisturbed  tranquillity 
during  the  whole  of  that  time,  is  the  great  truth  which  is  to 
be  deduced  from  the  account  of  it'^.     Short  as  this  account 


56  To  the  same  purpose  Dr.  More  says,  '  the  temple  signifies  the  cliurch 
in  its  pure  condition.'     Myst.  of  Godliness,  p.   190. 

57  Vitringa  has  not  omitted  to  remind  the  reader  of  this  verse,  that  by 
the  sun  the  princes  of  the  world  are  to  be  understood. 

58  VIII.  1. 

59  See  this  explanation  of  the  seventh  seal  proved  at  large  in  Vitringa, 
though,  indeed,  he  seems  to  have  understood  it  of  the  universal  Christian 
church,  rather  than  of  the  world  at  lai-ge.     Consult  also  Daubuz,  p.  346, 


CHAP.  XXXI.  369 

is,  (and  there  needed  not  to  be  any  new  exhibition  of  hie- 
roglyphic emblems,  since  things  were  to  continue  as  they 
were  before  represented  to  the  apostle,)  it  conveys  infor- 
mation, not  only  of  the  first  importance,  but  altogether' 
differing  from  the  past  experience  of  mankind.  Hitherto 
the  church  of  Christ,  ever  since  its  foundation,  has  been 
exposed  to  fluctuations  and  to  calamities.  Hitherto  the 
progress  of  society  has  been  often  obstructed:  has  been 
sometimes  retrograde.  Hitherto  no  period  of  time  has  been 
exempt  from  the  shock  of  revolutions  and  the  prosecution 
of  hostilities. 

The  words,  which  close  the  prophetic  description  that 
was  last  cited,  are  these  (vii.  1 7),  and  God  shall  wipe  axvay 
all  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  and  this  very  expression  occurs  in 
ch.  xxi,  where  St.  John  has  given  a  striking  representation 
of  the  millennium,  a  presumption  that  both  the  descriptions 
are  designed  for  the  same  period. 

With  respect,  however,  to  the  latter  of  the  two  descrip- 
tions it  may  be  noted,  previously  to  the  allegation  of  the 
three  principal  verses,  that  it  corresponds  not  in  all  respects 
to  the  introductory  stage  of  that  period,  but  to  the  state  of 
things,  which  will,  after  a  considerable  period  has  elapsed, 
be  established.  The  netv  symbolic  heaven  and  new  sym- 
bolic earth  the  prophet  announces  in  the  first  verse  of  ch. 
xxi,  and  the  passage  has  been  already  produced.  The  3d, 
4th,  and  5th  verses  are  thus  expressed  :  And  I  heard  a  great 
voice  out  of  heaven^  sayings  behold  the  tabernacle  of  God  is 
with  men^  and  he  will  dwell  with  theni^,  and  they  shall  be 
his  people.  And  God  himself  shall  be  xvith  them^  and  be 
their  God.  And  God  shall  -wipe  away  all  tears  from  their 
eyes  ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death^  neither  sorrow^  nor 


347-  That  the  last  of  the  seals  is  predictive  of  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  the  church,  after  the  fall  of  Antichrist,  was  long  ago  observed  by  dif- 
ferent commentators,  and  among-  others  by  the  Venerable  Bede,  who 
flourished  in  this  country  as  early  as  the  seventh  century. 

60  '  I  will  dwell  among  you,  not  otherwise  than  if  I  liad  fixed  my  taber- 
nacle in  the  midst  of  you.'     Crellius  in  loc. 

Vol.  II.  3  a 


Sro  ciiAr.  XXXI. 

rryhig^  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain:  for  the  former 
things  are  passed  axvay.  And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne 
§aid^  behold^  I  make  all  things  new.  And  he  said  unto  me^ 
write:  for  these  words  are  true  and  faithful^^. 

'  Because  of  this  felicity,'  says  Peganius,  '  all  former 
troubles  will  be  forgotten.  There  will  be  no  more  plagues, 
nor  shall  the  Christians  die  an  untimely  death  ;  but,  after  a 
long  life,  by  a  gentle  change  be  translated  into  the  life  to 
come.*  By  the  expression,  there  shall  he  no  more  deaths  is 
signified,  says  Crellius,  that  there  will  be  no  more  violent 
deaths  ;  for  those  few,  which  shall  happen,  will  not  be  wor- 
thy of  being  included  in  the  general  account.  '  In  the 
Millennium,'  says  Daubuz  on  this  verse,  '  they  shall  enjoy 
long  the  happy  fruits  of  their  holiness,  and  exchange,  as  it 
were  insensibly,  and  without  sorrow,  their  mortal  flesh  with 
a  speedy  hope  and  assurance  to  receive  for  it  an  immortal 
state  of  life'^* ;'  and  '  there  shall  be  no  anticipated  deaths 
before  the  usual  course  of  nature.' 

Of  the  causes,  which,  it  may  be  expected,  will,  at  a  fu- 
ture distant  period,  contribute  to  prevent  a  sudden  and 
premature  dissolution,  it  is  not  difficult  to  anticipate  some 
of  the  principal. 

Hviman  life  will  rarely  be  endangered  by  the  poisons  of 
the  mineral,  vegetable,  or  animal  kingdoms  ;  malignity  wiU 
not  administer  them ;  accident  will  seldom  stumble  upon 
them ;  and,  when  they  do  touch  the  skin,  or  enter  the  sto- 
mach, their  fatal  effects  will  generally  be  counteracted  by 
the  application    of  antidotes,  which  time  has  discovered  to 

61  Of  this  verse  the  former  part  implies,  that  this  will  be  a  state  of 
things  on  earth,  which  was  once  in  a  far  different  condition;  the  latter, 
that  it  will  assuredly  arrive. 

62  In  V.  7,  it  is  declared,  he  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things  ;  and  I 
inll  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my  son.  On  this  verse  Peganius  vwites,  *  the 
combat  with  flesh  and  blood,  it  is  true,  shall  not  cease,  but  the  victory  to 
those,  who  are  in  earnest,  shall  not  be  painful.'  Temptations  there  will 
be ;  but  he  who  conquers  them  will  enjoy  not  merely  the  happiness,  which 
this  world  can  impart,  but  that  richer  and  more  permanent  ijiheritance, 
reserved  for  him  in  a  higher  sphere  of  action. 


CHAP.    XXXI.  371 

be  little  less  than  infallible.     Beasts  of  prey  will  be  extir- 
pated; or  they  will  be  awed  by  the  neighborhood  and  by  the 
power  of  man.     The   inhabitants  of  every  city  will  sleep, 
unapprehensive  of  the  dagger  of  the  assassin  ;  such  as  travel 
the  public,  and  such  as  pursue  the  most  private,  road,  will 
alike  be  secure  from  the  lawless  assault  of  the  robber;  and 
those,  who  traverse  the  trackless  ocean,  will  navigate  their 
ships,  and  conduct  their  traffic,  without  recurring  to  any 
measures  of  defence  against  the   desperate  enterprises  of 
the  pirate.    Capital  punishments  will  be  annulled.    Maxims 
of  false  honor  will  no  longer  give   birth  to   duelling,  nor 
despair  to  suicide.     Men  will  not  be  sacrificed,  as  obstinate 
heretics,  or  as  expiatory  victims,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
bigot  or  the  fanatic.    From  successive  improvements  in  the 
structure  and  the  management  of  ships  ;  from  a  more  com- 
plete and  accurate  knowlege  of  seas,  and  rocks,  and  winds  ; 
from  the  practical  precautions  suggested  by  the  great  ad- 
vances, which  will  doubtless  be  made  in  electricity  ;  as  well 
as  from  the  ideas,  which  will  generally  prevail  of  the  high 
value  to  be  set  on  human  life,  and  the  criminalit}^  of  a  wan- 
ton exposure  of  it  to  the  hazard  of  destruction;  a  hope 
may  not  irrationally  be  entertained,  that  the  fury  of  the 
tempest  will  be  disarmed  of  half  its  force,  that  the  light- 
ning will  lose  much  of  its  terrors,  and  that  in  consequence,  the 
relics  of  ship- wrecked  vessels  will  scarcely  ever  be  cast  even 
upon  the  most  dangerous  or  the  most  commercial  shores. 
The  torch  of  civil  dissention  and  of  domestic  treason  will 
be  extinguished  ;  and,  the  causes  of  the  hostility  of  nations 
being  annihilated,  or  their  interfering  interests  being  adjust- 
ed by  mutual  concession  and  amicable  negotiation,  no  longer 
will  thousands  of  the  human  race  be  collected  together  to 
slaughter  each  other,  upon  the  field  of  battle,  or  upon  the 
bosom  of  the  deep.     Nor  will  a  pacific  behavior  be  con- 
fined to  those  nations  alone,  which  are-entitled  civilized. 
The  various  tribes   of  savages,  that  inhabit  the  less   fre- 
quented climes,  having  undergone  a  revolution  in  their 
manners  and  their  situation,  will  relinquish  the  use  of  the 


372  CHAP.   XXXI. 

arrow  and  the  spear,  the  battle-axe  and  the  scalping-knife. 
In  the  treatment  of  diseases,  and  in  the  cure  of  wounds, 
ignorance  and  inexperience  will  cease  to  be  a  fruitful  source 
of  the  destruction  of  life  ;  and  no  longer  will  men  be  swept 
away  in  crowds  by  those  contagious  disorders,  which  care 
and  skill  are  capable  of  remedying.  Nor  will  they  prema- 
turely destroy  themselves  by  a  course  of  debauchery,  or  by 
habits  of  intoxication. 

Sorrow  and  pain,  also,  in  comparison  of  the  ascendant 
they  formerly  had  upon  the  globe,  may  be  said  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  it ;  for  with  the  former  things,  which  are, 
passed  axvay,  with  Bad  Government  and  False  Religion, 
not  only  war,  discord,  and  pestilence  will,  in  a  great  de- 
gree, be  banished  from  the  world;  but  also  those  other 
evils  which  naturally  flow  from  the  same  sources,  sloth 
and  ignorance,  hypocrisy  and  persecution,  superstition  and 
infidelity,  excessive  poverty  and  intemperate  labor. 


THE    END, 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS, 


DIRECTLY  OR  INDIRECTLr  ILLUSTRATED. 


Chapter. 

Verse. 

Page. 

Gen. 

X. 

2. 

vol.  2.  247. 

XVI. 

10— .12. 

vol.  1.  108.  vol.  2.  123. 

XVII. 

20 

109. 

XXV. 

13 

108. 

XLV. 

8 

213. 

XLVII. 

14—26 

5. 

Numbers, 

X. 

8 

vol.  2.  269. 

Deutr. 

XXVIII. 

48-— .52 

195,   196. 

53—57 

197. 

64 

225,  227. 

1  Sam. 

vm. 

10,  11 

5. 

2  Sam. 

III. 

10 

vol.  1.   158. 

Ezra, 

IV. 

1 

vol.2.  215 

Psal. 

II. 

1,  4,  5,  8. 

92,  93. 

9 

94. 

XVI. 

10 

80. 

XXII. 

16—18 

80. 

LXIX. 

21 

80. 

LXXII. 

4 

vol.  1.   147. 

LXXXIX  37 

vol.  2.  269. 

WDEX 

37 

4                                                  OF  TEXTS. 

Chapter. 

Verse. 

Page. 

Psal. 

cxx 

5—7 

vol  2.   111. 

Prov. 

XXVIII. 

.   1 

279,  280. 

Eccles. 

IX. 

8 

367. 

Isa. 

I. 

21 

vol.  1.   198. 

11. 

2—4 

vol.  2.  90,  91. 

11—19 

91. 

VI. 

9—12 

202,  203. 

XI. 

6—9 

360. 

13 

213. 

XIII. 

86. 

3 

vol.  1.    126, 

9—13 

vol.  2.  87,  88,  355. 

XIV. 

4—27 

vol.  1.  228,294. 

12—13 

119. 

XVII. 

5 

265. 

XIX. 

1 

vol.  2.  262. 

XXIII. 

16 

vol.  1.  298. 

XXIV. 

vol.  2.  94. 

15—16 

95. 

21—22 

vol.  1.  38.  vol.  2.  95,96. 

XXXIV. 

4 

vol.  2.  38. 

XLII. 

9 

84. 

XLV. 

1 

vol.  1.   126. 

LVI. 

10—12 

vol.  2.  97. 

LXV. 

17—25 

164,212,213,360,363. 

LXVI. 

22 

164. 

Ezekiel 

XXIII. 

5 

vol.  1.   198. 

XXIX. 

14—15 

vol.  2.   123,  139. 

XXXVII 

9—10 

vol.  1.   107,  108,  in. 

14 

111. 

XXXVII] 

[.2 

vol.  2.  246,  247. 

5—6 

254. 

8 

96,  245. 

12—13 

249. 

15 

248,  249. 

16 

249,  250. 

17 

244,  245. 

21—22 

254. 

XXXIX. 

3 

249. 

INDEX 

37! 

5                                                OF  TEXTS. 

Chapter. 

Verse. 

Page, 

Jeremiah. 

XII. 

9 

vol.  1.  246. 

XXV. 

9 

126. 

XXX. 

7 

261. 

XLVI. 

28 

vol.  2.  211. 

Daniel 

II. 

28 

4. 

32— ,33 

6,  274. 

34 

6,  341. 

/ 

35 

6,  259. 

38 

6. 

40 

6. 

42—43 

8. 

44 

260. 

IV. 

16 

16. 

VII. 

vol.  1.  42,  vol.  2.4. 

2—3 

48. 

5 

vol.2.   102. 

7—8 

vol.  1.  43,  46.  vol.  2.  5,  9,  11. 

9—10 

vol.  2.   11,  350. 

11—12 

11,  13. 

17 

vol    1.  43. 

18—22 

vol.  2.  351. 

24—26 

vol.  1.  244,246.  vol.  2.  12,  16, 

27,  147. 

27 

vol.  2.  27,351. 

VIII. 

4 

12. 

8—25 

26. 

IX. 

26—27 

207,  209. 

XI. 

40—45 

103,  108. 

XII. 

4 

vol.  1.  253,  254.  vol.  2.  26. 

7 

vol.  2.  28,  30. 

8—9 

vol.  1.   170. 

10—11 

vol.  2.  ^:9,  30,  157. 

12 

30. 

Joel 

III. 

vol.  1.  267. 

9—14 

259,  ^68. 

15—17 

vol.  2.   187,212,213. 

18 

357. 

Amos 

II. 

2 

vol    1.    106. 

IX. 

13 

vol.  2.  357. 

XNBKX 

37 

6                                                  or  TEXTS. 

Chaptei'. 

Verse. 

Page. 

Mic. 

IV.. 

1,  3,  4. 

vol.  2.  359. 

Nah. 

III.    . 

4 

vol.  1.   198. 

Hag. 

II. 

31---22 

259  vol.  2.  92. 

Matt. 

XII. 

28 

vol.  2.   175. 

39 

269,  270. 

XIII. 

39—43 

vol.  1.  267. 

XVI. 

9 

vol.  2.   175 

28 

175,  265. 

XIX. 

29 

vol.  1.  205. 

XXI. 

43—44 

vol.  2.  5. 

XXIII. 

8—10 

vol.  I.  212. 

13 

vol.  2.   175. 

XXIV. 

35,41,  159,  167,  169, 
183,  194. 

3 

161,  166,  183,  190,  191, 

15 

187. 

23—28 

41. 

29 

35,  46,  180. 

. 

30 

vol.  1.  259.  vol.  2.  163,  186, 

187,261,267, 

31 

vol.  2.  271. 

39 

163. 

41—43 

179. 

XXVII. 

35 

80. 

XXVIII. 

19—20. 

167. 

Mark 

VIII. 

38 

vol.  1.  205. 

IX. 

1 

vol.  2.  265. 

X. 

29—30 

205. 

XIII. 

24 

170. 

27 

186. 

37 

167. 

Luke 

II. 

1 

vol.  1.  262. 

X. 

15 

119.  vol.  2.  36. 

XVII. 

20—21. 

vol.  2.  267. 

XXI. 

167,  193. 

22 

107. 

24. 

42,  168,205,  207. 

25-^6 

169,  170,  173,  180. 
191,  193. 

INDEX 

S77                                             OF   TEXTS 

Chapter. 

Verse. 

Page. 

Luke 

XXI 

27 
28 

vol.  1.  259.  vol.  2.  163,  ISO. 
vol.  2.    174,  180,  191. 

29- 

-.31 

vol.  2.    163,  174,  176. 

32 

176,  178,  185. 

33 

178. 

34- 

-36 

178,   179. 

XXII. 

24- 

-26 

vol.  1.214. 

XXIV. 

21 

vol.  2.  164, 

John 

V. 

24 
43 

vol.  1.  213. 
vol.  2.  237. 

VIII 

12 

vol.  2.  293. 

XVIII. 

36 

vol.  1.  209,  224. 

Acts 

I 

3,  6 

,r. 

vol.  2.   164,  176. 

II. 

27. 

80. 

X. 

15. 

78. 

XIII. 

40, 

41 

181. 

XVI. 

30, 

31 

vol.  1.  213. 

Romans 

VIII. 
XI. 

33 

vol.  2.  361. 
214. 

I  Cor. 

III. 

11 

vol    1.  214. 

VI. 

2 

vol.  2.  351. 

Eph. 

I»I- 

4 

361. 

Col, 

III. 

12 

361. 

2  Thess, 

II. 

-3 

4 

7 

8 

9 

11 

12 

13 

vol.  1.   161,  193,  194. 

162,  164,  167. 

163. 

169.  vol.2.  272 

163. 

167. 

168. 
vol.  2.    161. 

2  Tim.  I 

7 

335—341, 

IV. 

3—4 

vol.  I.   168. 

Titus 

I. 

1 

vol   2.  361. 

2  Peter 

I. 

21 

79. 

Rev. 

I. 

1 
3 
4 

7 

vol.  1.  20. 
vol.  2.  157. 
vol.  1.  38. 
vol.  2.  270. 

3b 


INDEX 


Rev. 


Of 

a 

or    TEXTS 

Chapter. 

Verse. 

Page. 

I. 

9 

vol. 

1.  22. 

IL 

1 

vol. 

2.  271,272. 

V. 

1— .14 

47. 

VI. 

2 

vol. 

.  1.  259.  vol.  2.  50,  264. 

3,4 

vol. 

2.  49,  50. 

5—6 

51,69. 

7—8 

70. 

10—12 

vol. 

1.   147.  vol.  2.  71. 

12—17 

259.  vol.2.  71,  76,365, 

VII. 

9,  13-^16 

vol. 

2.  364,  365,  368. 

17 

368. 

VIIL 

1 

368. 

12 

36. 

IX. 

1—12 

vol. 

1.   138,  139, 

5 

84—139. 

9—10 

138,  139. 

13—21 

139. 

14,  15 

106—139. 

17 

127. 

X. 

5—7 

31,  32. 

XI. 

1— «13 

73,  75,   103,   109,    113, 
124,   130,   133. 

2 

74,  115.  vol.  2.  15,  22. 

3 

♦  • 

87,  105,  109,  115,   122, 
125.  vol.  2.   15,  22. 

4 

108,  109. 

5 

108,  126,  128. 

6 

108,  128. 

7 

75,  77,  103,  106. 

8 

75,  85,  88,91,97,  102, 
103,  104,  117,  124. 

9 

89. 

10 

112,  124. 

11 

103,  106,  107,108,111, 
113,  118. 

12 

89,96,  98,  119,  120. 

^3 

74,  76,  77,  84,  90,  91, 
93,  99,   104,   110,  113, 
120,  122. 

14 

145. 

INDEX 

37 

9                                             OF  TEXTS. 

Chapter. 

Verse. 

Page. 

Rev.             XI. 

15 

vol.  2.   143,  149,  268. 

17 

vol.  1.   111. 

18 

143,  145,  148. 

XII. 

vol.  2.  71. 

3 

147. 

6 

16,  28. 

14 

vol.  1.    115.  vol.  2.   16,22. 

XIII. 

1 

47,  48,  53,  57. 

2 

48,  49. 

; 

3 

51,  52. 

4 

52.  vol.  2.  4. 

5 

vol.  2.   15,  22. 

6 

vol.  1.  53,  54. 

7 

54,  56. 

8 

46,  47,  56. 

9,  10 

271. 

11 

46,  57,  60,  257. 

12 

60. 

13—15 

61,  62. 

16,  17 

63,  65. 

18 

131,  136. 

XIV. 

8. 

86. 

9—11 

269,  370. 

14—20 

259,  262,  267. 

XV. 

1 

153. 

XVI. 

1 

1,  9,  155. 

2,  3 

154,  155. 

4—7 

126,  155. 

8 

2,3,  14,  15,  156,  157, 
vol.  2.  38. 

9 

16,  19,  157. 

10,  11 

157. 

12 

vol.  2.  99,  100,  101. 

13 

vol.  1.   158,  255,  261,  263. 

14 

258. 

15 

vol.  2.    179. 

16 

vol.  1.  258,  259,  262,  268. 

-'     17—21 

vol.  C.  76,  140,  144. 

XVII. 

1 

vol.  I.    198,  200. 

2 

211. 

INDEX                                                        380  OF   TEXTS, 

Chapter.                   Verse.  Page. 

Rev.             XVII.         13  vol.  1.   196,  198,  211,  278. 

4  198. 

5  196,  200. 

8  274. 

9  199,  200. 

10  50,  51,  114,  196. 

11  274. 

12  48,  272,  273  vol.  2.  92. 
13,14  272,273. 

15  200. 

16  vol.  2.   146,  154. 
18  vol.  1     199,  200. 

XVni.        1  253. 

2  203. 

4—6  203,  204. 

7  vol.  2.   149. 

8  vol.  1.  203.  vol.  2,  33. 

9,  10.  205,  278.    vol.  2.    145, 

146, 

1 1  205. 

14—19  206. 

20  209. 

21  206. 

XIX.  10  vol.  2.  84. 

ir_21  vol.  1,  274,  277.  vol.  2.  153, 
154,  156,  157. 

XX.  1—3  vol.  2.  349. 

4 — 6  350,  354. 

8  350. 

1 4  vol.  1.  275. 

XXI.  H  vol.  2.   354,  356. 
3—5  369—372. 
7  370. 
9—10  vol.  1.  211. 


INDEX 

OF  PROPHETIC  SYMBOLS 


EXPLAINED. 


AIR,  vol.  2.  141. 

Balance,  52. 

Beast,  vol.  1.  246,  251.  vol.  2.  11. 

Beholding,  the  act  of,  vol.  1.  120. 

Binding,  the  act  of,  vol.  2.  349. 

Black,  the  color,  vol.  2.   52. 

Blood,  Vol.  1.   127. 

Book,  the  sealing  of,  vol.  2.  26. 

Burning,  the  act  of,  151. 

Buying,  the  act  of,  vol.  1.  65. 

Candlesticks,  109. 

Chain,  vol.  2.  349. 

City,    a  great,  vol.  1.  74. 

Cloud,  120.  vol.  2.   262. 

Clouds,  to  come  in,  261— .264. 

Ci'OMmis,  vol.  1.    48. 

Darkness,  159. 

Death,  106,  107. 

Dew,  128. 

Dragon,  48,  49,  67.  vol.  2.   349. 


INDEX  OF  382         PROPHETIC  SYMBOLS. 

Earth,         vol.  1.  58,  59,  76,  112,  128.  vol.  2.  37,  89,  171, 

172,  354,  355. 
Earthquake,         76,  80,  90,  91,  104,'  106,  121. 
Eating,  the  act  of,  vol.  2.  151. 
Flesh,  vol.  2.   150,  153,  155,  157. 
Fire,   vol.  1.  61,  127,  275.  vol.  2.    11,  142,  154, 
Forehead,       63. 
Frogs,  263. 

Garment,  vol.  2.  376, 

Grave,  the  putting  of  a  person  into  it,  vol.  1 .  89.  ^ 

Hail,  vol.  2.  143. 
Hand,  vol.  1.  63. 
Harlot,  198. 

Harvest,  264 

Heads,  47,  50. 

Heat,  16. 

Heat,  to  scorch  with,  vol.  1.    16,  157. 
Heaven,  61,  106,  119.  vol. -2.  37,   38, 

71,  173,   262,  355v 
Heaven,  to  ascend  into,  vol.  1.  98,  119. 
Hill,  vol.  2.  91. 

Horns,  vol.  1.  44,  50,  59.  vol.  2.   146,   150. 
Horse,  a  vol.  2.  52. 

,    a  black  one,         52. 

,    a  red  one,  49. 

,    a  white  one,        264. 

Hunger,  vol.  2,  367. 

Jerusalem,  vol.  1,  211,  267. 

Islands,  vol.  2.  75. 

Killing,  the  act  of,  vol.   I.  106,  107,  HO,   voL  2.  11 

Lamb,  vol.  1.    59. 

Lamp,  110, 

Light,  254. 

Life,  107,276. 

Locusts,  138. 

Merchants,         205,  206.  ^ 

Moon,     vol.  2.  36,  38,  75. 

Mountain,  75,  90,  360. 

Mouth,  vol.  1.     127,  260. 

Nakedness,  vol.  2.  15  0. 


INDEX   OF  "  383  PROPHETIC    SYMBOLS. 

Olive-trees,  vol.  1.   109. 

Palm,  branches  of,  vol.  2.  367. 

Rain,  vol.  1.   128. 

Rising  from  the  dead,  vol.  1.   106 — 108,  118.  vol.  2.  354. 

Scarlet,  vol.  1.  49.' 

Sea,  vol.  1.  48,  58,  59.  vol.  2.  171,  172,  356. 

Selling,  the  act  of,  vol.  1.  65. 

Serpent,  66- 

Stars,  vol.  2.  36,  37,  39,  43,  75,  76. 

Sun,  vol.  1.    2,   13,  14.  vol.  2.  35—39,  75,  76. 

Sw^ord,  vol.  2.  49. 

Teeth,  10. 

Temple  of  God,  vol.  1.  162.  vol.  2.  368. 

Thirst,  368. 

Throne,  vol.  1.  158.  vol.  2.  350. 

Thunder,  vol.  2.   141. 

Trees,  vol.  1.   109. 

Trumpet,  142. 

Vintage,  266,  267. 

Waters,  48,  128,  201.  vol.  2.  99,  100.  172. 

Wheels,  vol.  2.   11. 

White,  the  color,  vol.  2.  264,  367. 

Zion,  vol.  2.  93. 


GENERAL  INDEX, 


A^Gvcra-QQy    meaning  of  the  word,   vol,  1.   p.  77.  vol.  2.  349. 

Achmet,  his  work  on  Oneirocritics,  vol.  1,  34.  vol.  2,  39. 

jEtheopia,  influence  of  Christianity  there,  vol.  2,  326. 

Afghans,  from  whom  said  to  be  descended,  vol.  2,  216,  ?  17:  have 
undergone  various  revolutions,  vol.  2,  217,  218,222. 

Africa,  the  immense  supply  of  corn  and  oil  which  it  formerly  ex- 
ported to  Italy,  vol.  2,  54,  61  ;  its  devastation  by  the  Vandals, 
vol.  2,  61  ;  its  recovery  by  Justinian  and  subsequent  rebellions, 
vol.  2,  63  ;  number  of  bishoprics  it  once  contained,  vol.  2,  70. 

Agriculture,  causes  of  its  decline  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries, 
vol,  2,  60,  65. 

Aim,  meaning  of  the  word,  vol.  2,   161,  162,  183. 

Albigenses.     See  Waldenses. 

Alcasar,  statement  of  this  learned  Jesuit  respecting  the  Apoca- 
lypse, vol.  Ij  44,  114,  196,  201. 

Alcuin,  abbot,  France  greatly  indebted  to  this  Englishman,  vol, 
2,  299. 

Alemanni,  their  devastations,  vol.  2,  57. 

Alexandria,  in  ancient  times  very  populous,  vol.  2.  133;  its  mer- 
chants oppressed  by  George  of  Cappadocia,  vol.  1,  182;  pre- 
sent state  of  its  ports  and  canal,  vol.  2,  137;  profusion  of 
ruins  in  its  neighborhood,  vol.  2,  136. 


GENERAL  386  INDEX. 

Alexandria,  school  of,  circumstances  relative  to,  vol.  2,  312. 

Ambrose  of  Milan,  his  conduct  and  opinions,  vol.  1,  176,  181,  185. 

America,  Northern  States  of,  have  not  gained  so  much  by  a  Re- 
volution, as  many  other  countries  would,  vol.  2,  13. 

American  Revolution,  effect  it  produced  upon  France,  vol.  2,  300. 

Analogy  between  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion,  remarks  on. 
vol.  1,  296,  297,304. 

Angel,  meaning  of  the  term,  vol.  I,  253. 

Anglo-Saxons,  their  devastations  and  conquest  of  the  southern 
part  of  Britain,  vol.  2,  56,  57,  62 ;  effects  produced  by  their 
conversion  to  Christianity,  vol.*  2,  295,  296. 

Antichrist,  signification  of  the  term,  vol.  1,9,  161 ;  marks  of,  vol. 
1,  212,  215  ;  the  destruction  of  i'll  antichristian  authority  over 
the  conscience  foretold,  vol.  1,  168,203 — 207.  vol.2,  147 — 151. 

Apocalypse,  why  so  called  in  the  opinion  of  Vitringa,  vol.  1,  20; 
when  written,  vol.  1,  21  ;  precautions  taken  for  its  preservation, 
vol.  1,  38  ;  attested  by  very  early  writers,  vol.  1,  20 — 22,  196; 
early  commented  upon,  vol.  1,  21,  25;  whence  its  genuineness 
was  denied  by  some  as  far  back  as  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries, 
vol.  1,  23,  25  ;  testimonies  of  learned  moderns  in  favor  of  its 
authenticity,  vol.  1,  20 — 21,  24 — 26.  vol.  2,  188;  designs  of  it 
in  the  opinion  of  Lowman  and  Vitringa,  vol.  1,  71 ;  advantages 
which  have  resulted  from  it,  vol.  1,  27 — iSO,  197;  whence  its 
usefulness  may  be  expected  to  be  hereafter  more  conspicuous, 
vol.  1,  29,  303.  vol.  2,  157;  causes  of  its  obscurity,  vol.  1,  30, 
31,  39,  40;  on  some  of  the  methods  for  removing  its  obscurity, 
vol.  1,  33 — 36,  70  ;  the  diversity  of  opinions  among  its  inter- 
preters not  a  sufficient  reasen  for  its  rejection,  vol.  1,  26,  27,  36, 
37,  299  ;  is  made  up  of  two  parts,  vol.  1,  36  ;  some  account  of 
the  first  part,  vol.  1,  36,  38  ;  the  checks  provided  in  it  against 
the  fancy  of  an  expositor,  vol.  1,  35,  39  ;  copiousness  and  par- 
ticularity of  its  predictions,  vol.  1,  lly  196,  197;  many  of  its 
predictions  relate  to  political  events,  vol.  1,  40,  43  ;  contains 
contemporaneous  predictions,  and  sometimes  represent  the  same 
event  by  different  symbols,  vol.  1,  39,  262 — 264:  many  of 
its  symbols  borrowed  from  Daniel,  vol.  1,  50.  vol.  2,  3,  whence 
the  language  of  symbols  were  employed  in  it,  vol.  1,  31,  ."^S, 
36,  40. 

Arabs,  the  peculiarities  of  their  situation  and  character  supposed 
to  be  foretold  in  Genesis,  vol.  2,  108 — 123  ;  supposed  to  be  re- 


(iENERAL  387  INDEX. 

ferred  to  by  Daniel,  vol.  2,  103;  their  extensive  depredations 
foretold  by  St.  John,  vol.  1,  138— .139  ;  always  engaged  in  do- 
mestic and  foreign  hostilities,  vol.  2,  110,  114,  121;  their  per- 
sonal freedom,  vol.2,  110,  111,  119,  122;  their  national  inde- 
pendence, vol.2,  105,  114,  115,  119,  122,  123;  their  country 
often  invaded,  vol.  2,  114,  115;  extent  and  rapidity  of  their 
conquests,  vol.  1,  138,  139;  their  primitive  manners  still  re- 
tained, vol.  2,  110,  111,  119— .122;  nature  of  the  studies  in 
which  they  engaged,  vol.  2,  305,  306 ;  length  of  the  period 
wherein  literature  flourished  among  them,  vol.  2,  305,  306. 

Arians,  cruel  treatment  of  them  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  1,  187. 

Aristotle,  the  great  authority  he  obtained  in  the  schools  in  the  dark 
ages,  vol.  2,  314,  315. 

Armies  of  antiquity,  those  of  small  countries  often  very  numerous, 
vol,  2,  242,243. 

Arnulph  of  Orleans,  his  statement  respecting  Antichrist,  vol.  1, 
201,  203. 

Arts  fine,  decline  of  them  in  the  Roman  empire,  vol  2,  307—311. 

Astronomy,  the  magnificent  views  it  suggests  respecting  the  pro- 
bable multitude  of  worlds  the  virtuous  are  successively  to  enter, 
vol.  2,  188,  189. 

Athos  Mount,  monasteries  of,  formerly  possessed  of  great  literary 
treasures,  vol.  2,  302. 

Attila,  his  mighty  conquests  and  devastations,  vol.  2,  62,  115,  116. 

Austria,  house  of,  circumstances  that  threaten  its  downfal,  vol. 
2,   102. 

Babylon,  prophecies  relative  to,  vol.  1,  294,  295.  vol.  2,  86—88. 

Babylon,  symbolic,  prophecies  relative  to,  vol.  1,  195,  206,  211. 
vol.  2,  86,  88,  142,  143,  151. 

Barbarians  some  of  the  gi'eat  effects  produced  by  those  who  over- 
ran the  Roman  empire  enumerated,  vol.  1,  55,  56,  60,  65,  67, 
287,  288,  306 ;  the  different  causes  which  prompted  their  de- 
structive inroads,  vol.  2,  63. 

Baptism,  false  notions  of,  have  been  very  mischievous,  vol.  1,  176. 

Barbauld,  Mrs.  extracts  from,  vol.  2,  275 — 277,  284—286,  293 
295. 

Barcochebas,  account  of,  vol.  2,  203. 

Basnage,  extracts  from,  vol.  2,  204,  216,  222,  226,  237. 

Baton,  this  general  traverses  with  his  five  hundred  thousand  horse, 
a  fourth  part  of  the  globe's  circumference,  vol.   2,  1 1 6—1 1 8. 


GEJfEaiy,L  388  INDEX. 

Beast,  two-horned,  of  whom  emblematic,  vol.   1,  46,58,  60,  158, 

257  ;  account  of  the  prophecies  relative  to,  vol.  1,  43,  65,  257, 

262,  263,  274,  275,  278.  vol.  2,  154,  155. 
Beast,  ten-horned,  of  whom  emblematic,  vol.    1,  44,  45,  47,  60, 

158  ; — account  of  the  prophecies  relative  to,  vol.  1,  43,  56,  271, 

278.  vol.   .,  154—157,  158. 
Beast  that  ascendeth  out  of  the  bottomless  fiitf  this  falsely  translated 

passage  explained,  vol.  1,47 — 49,  77.  vol.  2,  349. 
Beasts,  wild,  in  what  respects  they  resemble  tyrannical  painces, 

vol.  1,  247— .252. 
Benevolence,  a  principal  topic  of  the  gospel,  vol.  2,  277,  337. 
Bernard,  St.  his  statement  relative  to  the  Papal  see,  vol.  1,  202, 

203. 
Bernier,  commendation  of,  and  extract  from  vol.  2,  220— .221. 
Bishops,  in  some  periods  greatly  distinguished  themselves  as  the 

friends  of  humanity,  and  peace,  vol.  2,  321 — 323.     See  Pre. 

lates. 
Bishops  of  the  fourth  century,  their  usurpations,  contentions,  and 

vices,  vol.  1,   173 — 175,    182,   183,   184,    191  ;  were  exempted 

from  every  tax,  vol.  1,   174. 
Blackburne,  archdeacon,  extracts  from  vol.  1,  167,  219,  223. 
BA«e-^j!fte<!y,  meaning  of,  vol.  1,   16,  53. 
Books,  scarcity  of  them  in  the  dark  ages,  vol.   2,  289,  291,  292  ; 

materials  for  writing  them  also  scaixe,  vol.  2,  294,  295. 
Brenius,   extracts   from,  vol.  1,   253  \   vol.  2,  '90,    148,    164— 

165. 
Britain,  its  southern  provinces  overrun  by  Barbarians  in  the  fourth 

century,  vol.  2,  56,  51 ;  their  subjugation  by  the  Saxons,  vol.  2, 

61—63. 
British  constitution,  the  freedom  belonging  to  it,  whom  attributed 

by  Hume,  vol.  2,  298. 
Bryant,  Jacob  Mr.  extract  from,  vol.  2,  125,  126,  219. 
Bucer,  a  persecutor,  vol.  1,226. 

Buchan,  earl  of,  quotations  from,  vol.  1,  247.  vol.  2,  303. 
Burnet,   Dr.    Thomas,   extracts  from,   vol.    2,    162,  263,  343  ^ 

abridged  account  of  that  part  of  his  Theory  of  the  Earthy  which 

relates  to  events  yet  future,  vol  2,  327 — 347. 
Butler,  bishop,  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  302,304.  vol.  2,  143  ;  see  alsQ 

preface. 
Calmucks,  transmigration  of  them,  vol.  2,  253. 


GENERAL  389  INDEX. 

Calvin,  his  reproof  of  princes,  vol.  1,  54. 

Canon  Law,  oljservations  on  the  introduction  of  it  into  Europe,  vol. 
2,  324,  325. 

Caracalla,  one  of  the  principal  authors  of  the  decline  of  the  Ro- 
man empire,  vol.  2,  308. 

Cashmere,  particulars  relative  to  its  situation  and  inhabitants,  vol. 
2,  220,221. 

Catholics,  Roman,  those  of  Bristol  prevented  from  erecting  a 
chapel  there,  vol.  1,  229 

Chandler,  bishop,  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  73,  292.  vol.  2,  4 — 6,  8, 
ir,  207,  208,  260. 

Charity,  the  practice  of  this  virtue  greatly  promoted  by  Christiani- 
ty, vol.2,  328. 

Charles  V.  his  cruelties  in  the  Netherlands,  vol.  1,  55. 

Charles  I.  politic  conduct  of  his  friends,  vol.  1,  23,'i. 

Charles  II.  the  honor  recently  paid  to  his  memory,  vol.  2,  351, 
352. 

China,  its  northern  provinces  subdued  by  Zingis,  vol.  2,  116,  255 ; 
conquered  by  his  descendants,  vol.  2,  117;  its  invasion  planned 
by  Tamerlane,  vol.  2,  118. 

Christ,  appears  to  have  made  frequent  references  to  the  prophe- 
phecies  of  Daniel,  vol.  1,  5,  163,  187  ;  predicted  the  destruction 
of  the  oppressive  monarchies  and  aristocracies  of  the  world,  vol. 
2,  35,  43,  some  of  his  predictions  commented  upon,  vol.  2,  34, 
47,  159,  194,  262 — 268,  269,  272;  the  opinion  that  he  vi'ill  de- 
scend to  reign  upon  earth  at  the  commencement  of  the  millen- 
nium combated,  vol.  2,  126 — 268,  272 — 274  ;  the  friendly  solici- 
tude he  displayed  in  behalf  of  the  poor;  vol.  2,  274,  275  ;  the 
great  reformer  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  vol.  2,  286. 
Christ's  second  comings  what  the  expression  means,  and  what  is 
the  period  referred  to,  vol.  1,  169.  vol.  2,  163,  164,  190,  261 — 
268. 
Christianity,  favorable  to  freedom,  vol.  1,  215.  vol.  2,  274, 
341  ;  to  peace,  vol.  2,  276,  277,  318,  319,  322,  323  ;  to  virtue, 
vol.  2,  367,  368,  315 — 317  ;  to  <;ourage,  vol.  2,  278,  336 — 341  ; 
to  learning,  vol.  2,  267—298,  301 — 314,  320,  321;  its  rapid 
propagation  supposed  to  be  foretold  in  the  first  seal,  vol.  2,  50  ; 
in  the  fourth  century  differed  little  in  its  external  appearance 
from  paganism,  vol.  1,  179  ;  revolutions  it  underwent  in  the  first 
six  centuries,  vol.  1,  194.  vol.  2,  69,  70,  72  ;  enumeration  of  thr 


GENERAL  390  INDEX. 

countries  in  which  the  belief  of  it  has  been  particularly  or  com- 
pletely subverted,  vol.  2,  70 ;  causes  which  contributed  to  occa- 
sion its  decay  or  extinction  in  these  countries,  vol.  1,  194.  vol.  2, 
54 ;  the  decline  of  learning  falsely  attributed  to  it.  vol.  2,  505 — 
315;  what  are  the  great  principles  it  inculcates,  vol.  1,  214,  215. 
vol.  2,  273,  274 ;  its  operation  in  a  great  degree  silent  and  im- 
perceptible, vol.  2,  316,  517;  has  been  productive  of  happy 
effects  in  laws  and  public  institutions,  vol.  2,  326 — i29  ;  has  been 
greatly  corrupted,  a'oI.  2,  3 )  5,  319,  320;  its  religious  services 
often  prostituted  to  sanction  the  shedding  of  blood  ;  vol.  2,  276 ; 
never  the  proper  and  primary  cause  of  wars,  vol.  2,  318—320; 
does  not  favor  the  doctrine  of  non-resistance,  vol.  2,  279— .282  ; 
its  truth  to  be  judged  of  from  the  whole  of  the  evidence  in  favor 
taken  together,  vol.  1,  302  ;  the  support  it  receives  from  pro- 
phecy, vol.  1,  27,  iS,  196,  197;  the  frequent  contemplation  of 
its  evidences  important  to  moral  conduct,  vol.  1,  306,  307;  its 
universal  spread  foretold,  vol.  2,  259. 

Christians,  primitive,  account  of,  vol.2,  315,316. 

Chrysostom,  opinions  of,  vol.  1,  176,  181,  186.  vol.  2,  41,  177,  190, 
199,  214. 

Church-Lands,  not  unaUenable,  vol.  2,  151. 

Churches,  in  the  fourth  century  resembled  the  Pagan  temples,  vol. 
1,  178  ;  had  lighted  lamps  in  the  day-time,  vol.  1,  179. 

Circassia,  penetrated  by  the  arms  of  the  Moguls,  vol.  2,  117; 
slaves  purchased  there,  vol.  2,  134,  135. 

Clapping  hands,  a  practice  prevalent  in  churches  in  the  fourtli  cen- 
tury, vol.  1,  175. 

Clark,  Dr.  Samuel,  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  294 — 296.  vol.  2,  79,  169, 
199,  237. 

Classics,  the  study  of,  favorable  to  freedom,  vol.  2,  304,  305  ;  the 
most  valuable  of  them  preserved,  vol.  2,  290 ;  to  whom  the 
preservation  of  them  owing,  vol.  2,  291,  292,  294,  301 — 305 
321 ;  the  happy  effects  produced  by  the  study  of  them  in  the 
nations  of  modern  Europe,  vol.  2,  304  ;  circumstances  in  which 
they  were  almost  all  written,  vol.  2,  306,  307. 

Clayton,  bishop,  extract  from,  vol.  1,  216. 

Clovis,  his  cruelty  and  uncommon  success,  vol.  1,  135. 

Commentators,  in  general  touch  the  political  predictions  of  Si 
John  with  a  very  cautious  hand,  vol.  1,  40,  43  ;  most  of  them 
great  imitators,  vol.  2,  50. 


GENERAT.  39  1  INDEX 

Commons,  house  of,  its  representation  too  popular  in  the  opinion 
of  bp.  Newton,  vol.  1,  128. 

CoNSTANTiNE,  pretended  cause  of  his  conversion,  vol.  1,  164  ;  his 
vanity,  vol.  2,  310;  proofs  of  his  cruelty,  vol.  165,  187;  other 
circumstances  or  remarks  relative  to  him,  vol.  1,  163,  164, 
166,  174,  176,  178,  181,  183,  185,  189,  190,  194.  vol.  2,  156, 
73,  74. 

Constantine,  arch  of,  circumstances  respecting,  vol,  2,  311. 

Constantinople,  battle  in  that  city  between  the  Arians  and  Catho- 
lics, vol.  1,  192. 

Constantius,  particulars  relative  to  his  reign,  vol.  1,  182,  183,  185, 
191,    192.  vol.2,  56—58. 

Courtiers,  how  characterised  by  bishop  Hurd,  vol.  1,  233,  234, 
235. 

Credulity,  remarkable  instances  of,  vol.  2,  230, 231,  234.  See  also 
note  1 4,  in  preface. 

Cressener,  Dr.  quotations  from,  vol.  1,  15,  21,  26,  44,  50,  63,  100, 
144,  145,  159,  164,  175.  vol.2,  20. 

Croyland,  abbey  of,  particulars  respecting,  vol.  2,  298. 

JD<c7no72s,  meaning  of  the  word,  vol.  1,  140. 

Damasus,  the  infamous  means  he  employed  to  gain  the  see  of 
Rome,  vol.  1,  174. 

Daniel,  the  prophet,  facts  respecting  him,  vol.  2,  2,  3. 

Daniel,  the  book  of,  circumstances  in  favor  of  its  authenticity, 
vol.  2,  1—3,  15  ;  why  written  partly  in  Chaldee  and  partly  in 
Hebrew,  vol.  2,  2  ;  in  connexion  with  the  Apocalypse  exhibits, 
in  the  opinion  of  bp.  Newton,  a  series  of  the  most  important 
events  recorded  in  history,  vol.  1,  71.  72. 

Daubuz,  some  account  of,  vol.  1,  67,  68;  extracts  from  vol.  1, 
45,  47,  49,  53,  58,  59,75,82,  109,  111,  112,  114,  118,  120 
127,  131,143,  146,  158,  199,  247,  153,  259,  261,  266,  270,  276,' 
277.  vol.  2,  73,  270,  276,  277,  349,  350,  355,  356,  370. 

Day,  what  it  frequently  signifies  in  prophecy,  vol.  1,  114,  115, 
261.  vol.  2,   16,  17,  258. 

Day  of  the  Lord,  meaning  of  the  expression,  vol.  1,  261.  vol. 
2,  95. 

Deaths,  \dolent,  reasons  for  supposing  that  they  will  be  far  less  fre- 
quent hereafter  than  they  now  are,  vol.  2,  360 — 363,  370 — 372. 

Despotism,  though  administered  by  the  best  and  wisest  princes, 
productive  of  very  injurious  effects,  vol.  2,  307. 


GENERAL  392  INDEX. 

Doctrines,  how  the  truth  of  them  was  proved  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tnry,  vol-  1,  75,76. 

Donatists,  hoAv  treated,  vol.  1,  186. 

Dreams,  treatises  upon  the  art  of  interpreting  them  useful  in  the 
illustration  of  prophecy,  vol.  1,  34 — 36  ;  this  art,  and  the  belief 
that  dreams  were  prophetic,  received  countenance  from  some  of 
the  wisest  ancients,  vol.  1,  35. 

Earth,  conflagration  of  it,  Dr.  Burnet's  ideas  relative  to  it,  vol.  2, 
344_346. 

Edwards,  Dr.  Thomas,  extracts  from,  vol.  2,   159,  160,  185,  186. 

Ecclesiastics,  different  ways  in  which  they  have  been  serviceable 
to  mankind,  vol.  2,  286 — 298,  301,  302 — 304,  305,  326,  331 — 
333.    '  ee  priests. 

Ecclesiastical  tyranny,  many  circumstances  relative  to,  foretold  by 
St.  John,  vol.  1,42,43,  57 — 75.     See  Hiei'archies. 

Ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  at  one  period  courted  as  a  privilege,  vol. 
2,  325,  326. 

Egypt,  prophecy  relative  to,  vol.  2,  123 — 139;  difficult  of  access^ 
vol  2,  125,  126;  its  climate  healthy,  vol.  2,  128,  129;  once 
renowned  for  its  wisdom,  vol.  2,  126  ;  deprived  of  its  liberties  in 
a  great  degree  by  the  patriarch  Joseph,  vol.  1,  5 ;  conquered  by 
the  Persians,  vol.  1,  34,  124  ;  by  the  Arabs,  vol.  1,  K'8  ;  by  the 
Turks,  vol.  2,  105,  106 ;  by  other  nations,  vol.  2,  130,  131  ;  has 
been  subject  to  foreigners  more  than  one  and  twenty  hundred 
years,  vol.  2,  124;  produced  the  first  monastic  societies,  vol.  1, 
181  ;  contains  a  considerable  number  of  Arabs,  vol.  2,  121  ;  ex- 
treme diminution  of  its  inhabitants,  vol.  2,  1 3 1  ;  its  peasantry 
now  hardy  and  brave,  vol.  2,  129,  130  ;  its  lands  and  every  thing 
suffered  to  fall  into  decay,  vol.  2,  134—135  ;  its  present  inhabi- 
tants the  victims  of  oppression,  vol.  2,  136,  137;  a  prey  to 
famine  in  the  years  1784,  and  1785,  vol.  2,  136,  137;  their  or- 
dmary  food  and  habitations,  vol.  2,  136. 

JS/ec^  meaning  of  the  term,  vol.  2,  271,  361,  362. 

Emulation,  how  excited  in  Europe,  vol.  2,  303,  305,  320,  321  ; 
admirable  effects  of,  vol.  2,  322,  323. 

England,  scarcity  of  books  there  in  the  sixth  century,  vol.  2,289, 
291;  means  employed  to  encourage  learning  there  in  some  of 
the  following  centuries,  vol.  2,  295,  299  ;  an  eminent  promoter 
of  civil  liberty^  vol.  2,  299,  300 ;  to  whom  the  freedom  of  its 
constitution  is  attributed  by  Hume  vol.  2,  298. 


GENERAL  383  INDEX. 

Erasmus,  encomium  of  vol,  2,  503. 

Eternity,  speculations  respecting,  \ol.  2,  18S. 

EvANsoN,  Mr.  extracts  from,  vol    1,  51 — 53,  62,  65,   161 — il64, 
168,  204,  210,  243.  vol.  2,   188. 

European  states,  advantageous  circumstances  in  which  they  are 
placed,  vol.  2,  322—326. 

Eusebius,  of  Cxsarea,  sometimes  censurable  vol.  1,  176,  188,  189  ; 
carried  away  with  a  fondness  for  monarchism,  vol.  1,  181. 

£vej-  and  ever,  tlie  expression  how  limited;  vol.  1,  2?0.  vol.  2, 
268,  269.. 

Faith,  admits  of  degrees,  vol.  1,  306. 

Falsehood  regarded  in  the  fourth  century  as  a  lawful  method  of 
promoting  the  interests  of  the  church,  vol.  1,  181. 

Famine,  generally  followed  by  pestilence,  vol.  2,  61,  64,  66,  67. 

Fasting,  with  what  view  performed  in  the  fourth  century  and  in 
what  manner  vol.  1,  J  80. 

Father,  sense  in  which  the  word  is  sometimes  used,  vol.  1,  241. 

Fathers,  or  primitive  wjiters  of  the  chvirch,  what  is  the  fair  mode 
of  estimating  their  merits  or  defects,  vol.  2,  291. 

Faustus,  enveighs  against  the  superstitions  of  the  orthodox,  vol.  1, 
179.. 

Fleming,  Mr.  Robert,  some  account  of  him,  vol.  1,  4,  5,  ex- 
tracts from  him,  vol.  1,  1 — "6.  vol.  2,  81,  82  his  sentiments  on 
the  fourth  vial  examined,  vol.  I,  3—13,   149,   156,  157. 

Fourth  century,  account  of  its  corruptions,  vol.  1,  156,  157, 
171—195. 

France,  the  probability  of  a  revolution  in  that  country  grounded 
upon  a  pailicular  passage  of  the  Apocalypse,  by  Mr.  Laughlan 
Taylor,  vol.  I,  78,  Mr.  Willson,  vol.  1,  79  ;  Mr.  Whiston,  vol. 
1,  79  ;  Dr.  Thomas  Goodwin,  vol.  1,  80  ;  M.  Jurieu,  vol.  1, 
88 — 93;  an  anonymous  French  commentator,  vcj.  1,  95,  96, 
98,  99;  Dr.  Cressener,  vol.  1,  100;  an  anonymous  English 
commentator,  vol.  1.  100 — 102;  Dr.  Gill,  vol.  1,  132;  and  by 
Vitringa,  vol.  1,  102,  104;  not  antecedently  improbable  that 
this  event  is  pointed  out  by  St.  John,  vol.  1.  71,  72  ;  arguments 
which  may  be  alleged  in  support  of  this  interpretation  vol.  1 ,  73, 
76,  77,  96 — '.'8,  101 — 131  the  extent  of  France  greater  in  the 
sixth  century  than  at  present,  vol.  1,  135;  scarcity  of  books 
there  in  the  dark  ages,  vol.  2,  291  ;'has  produced  a  great  num- 
ber of  persons,  who  have  encountered  persecution  in  defence  of 

3n 


GENERAL  394  INDEX. 

their  religion  than  any  other  country,  vol.  1,  84,  88;  Europe 
greatly  indebted  to  this  country  for.  the  light,  which  first  arose 
in  it  on  the  subject  of  refigion  and  the  papal  usurpations,  vol.  1, 
86,  87 ;  itself  much  indebted  to  England  for  its  speculative  no-  \ 
tions  in  favor  of  freedom,  vol.  2,  299,  300  ;  rendered  in  a  con- 
siderable degree  inquisitive  by  the  Protestant  Reformation  vol.  2, 
333  ;  its  example  likely  hereafter  to  produce  a  great  effect  on 
the  nations  of  Europe,  vol.  2,  13,  354,  355. 

Franks,  their  depredations  and  conquests,  vol.   1,   135.  vol.  2,  56. 

Freedom,  the  cause  of,  destined  to  irieet  an  obstinate  resistance 
from  the  two  imperial  courts,  vol.  2,  101,  102  ;  assisted  by  Chris- 
tianity, vol.  1,  215.  vol.  2,274 — 341. 

French  Revolution,  some  of  the  causes  of  it,  vol.  1,  10—13, 
299 — 301  ;  what  class  of  persons  have  been  principal  sufferers 
in  it,  vol.  1,  119;  some  of  those  who  powerfully  contributed  to 
it,  ecclesiastics,  vol.  2,  332  ;  some  of  the  reasons  to  account  for 
the  crimes  by  which  it  has  been  stained,  see  note  5,  in  preface. 

French  monarchy,  rose  rapidly  into  power,  vol.  1,  135;  humilia- 
tion of  it  expected  by  Mr.  Fleming,  vol.  1,3;  how  far  its  expen- 
diture surpassed  its  income,  vol.  1,13. 

Fi'ench  emigrants,  conduct  of  many  of  them-  vol.  1,  17 — 19. 

French  emigrant  princes,  their  lofty  language,  vol.  1,  7,  8. 

Gentiles,  meaning  of  the  term,  vol.  2,  74,  145, 

George  of  Cappadocia,  his  vices,  vol.  1,  182. 

Germany,  great  number  of  books  published  there,  vol.2,  101,  102. 

Gibbon,  Mr.  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  55,  135,  176,  191,  192,  21, 
vol.  2,  49,  53,54,56,  66,67,  74,  110 — 114,  116,  120,  121— 
123,  185,  250 — 253,  289,  300,  304—306,  307—310,  312.  320, 
32 1,  323 

Gladiatorial  shows,  particulars  respecting,  vol.  2,  327,  328. 

God  the  Great  Day  of,  the  expression  explained,  vol.  1,  261.| 

Gog  and  Magog,  reasons  in  support  of  the  conjecture,  that  they 
signify  the  Tartars,  vol.  2,  146 — .56. 

Goodwin,  Dr.  Thomas,  some  account  of,  vol.   1 ,  80. 

Gotlis,  their  devastations,  vol,  2,  56,  58 — 60,  66,  67. 

Greece,  ancient,  cities  of,  the  circumstances  of  advantage  in  which 
they  were  placed,  vol.  2,  322,  323. 

Greek,  knowlege  of  it  nearly  extinct  among  the  Latins  in  the  1 3th 
century,  vol.  2,  289. 


GENERAL  395  INDEX. 

Gregory  the  Great,  Iiis  statement  respecting  Antichrist,  vol.  1, 
301,  203. 

Hadrianople,  the  battle  of,  circumstances  relative  to,  vol.  2,  59. 

Hautley,  Dr.  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  '207,  232,  285,  291,  303—. 
305,   179,  215,  240,  12,^. 

Hebrew  Scuiptiikes,  arguments  in  favor  of  their  authenticity, 
vol.  1,  280,  285,  .:91 — 334  ;  means  which  may  he  employed  to 
elucidate  them,  vol.  1,  292 — 29-4. 

Henry  VIII.  conduct  of,  vol.  1,  125,  162, 

Heretics,  infamous  laws  against  them,  vol.  1,  186,  1  89  ;  their  treat- 
ment in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  1,  186 — 190;  in  Avhat  light 
viewed  by  some  of  the  reformers,  vol.  1,  21. 6. 

Hermanric,  his  extensive  sway,  vol.  'i,  57. 

Herodotus,  his  statements  respecting  Egypt,  vol.  2,  127,  128, 
131. 

Hierarchies,  antic hristi an,  how  emblamatized  in  prophecy, 
vol.  1,  196,  200,  205  ;  the  obligation  there  is  to  quit  them,  vol. 
1,  204,  205  ;  their  destruction  foretold,  vol.  1,  203 — 209,  274— 
279;  vol.  2,  142 — 15'2. 

Hierarchies,  Protestant,  shewn  to  be  antichristian,  vol.  1, 
168,  159,  207,  2 17,  232  ;  resemble  in  various  respects  the  church 
of  Rome,  vol.  1,  168,  193,  194,  198 —  01,  208,  210,  211,  221 
— 224  ;  have  in  some  respects  been  more  censurable  than  even 
the  church  of  Rome,  vol.  1,  167,  209. 

Hieroglyphics,  some  circumstances  relating  to,  vol.  1,  33,  34,  67. 
vol.  2,  38. 

Hindostan,  conquered  by  Tamerlane,  vol.  2,  118;  circumstances 
favoring  the  conjecture  that  the  ten  tribes  were  situated  on  the 
borders  of  this  country,  vol.  2,  216— .223,  225 — 232,  233. 

History,  its  great  importance  in  enabling  the  inquirer  to  form  an 
accurate  estimate  of  the  value  of  that  evidence  in  favor  of  Re- 
velation, which  is  derived  from  prophecy,  vol.  1,  71,  72,  140— 
142,  294,295,  30 i. 

History  of  the  middle  ages,  the  moderns  indebted  to  the  monks  for 
their  knowlege  of  it,  vol.  2,  x  93. 

Hoadly,  bishop,  ([notation  from,  vol.  1,  209,  210. 

Hobbes,  extract  from,  vol.  2,  305. 

Holy  people,  meaning  of  the  term,  vol.  2,  27,  ?8. 

Holy  water,  introduced  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  1,  178. 

Horace,  passage  in  one  of  his  odes  havinga  double  sense,  vol.  2,  85. 


GENERAL  596  INDEX. 

Horses,  multitade  ot,  a  great  evil,  vol.  2,  155. 

Hume,  David,  the  observations  he  has  alleged  against  the  people 
exercising  their  rights  censured  by  bp.  Hurd,  vol.  1,  237 — 239  j 
his  account  of  a  joint  production  of  Warburton  and  Hurd, 
vol.  1,240. 

Hungary,  laid  waste  by  the  Tartars,  vol.  2,  117. 

Huns,  their  devastations,  vol  2,  61,  63. 

Hunting,  singular  mode  of  conducting  it  in  Tartary,  vol.  2,  253. 

HuRD,  Bishop,  his  sentiments  as  a  man  and  conduct  as  a  bishop 
at  variance,  vol.  1,  221,242 — 252;  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  27, 
31,  35,  39,  139,  140,  221,  222,  232—240,  256,  295,  296,  303> 
304,  vol.  2,  22,  24,  76,  82 — 84,  181,  182,  202,  203,  205,  206, 
256,  263,  275,281. 

Hypocricy.  particularly  prevalent  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  1,  189  ; 
circumstances  productive  of  it,  vol.  1,  194,  195. 

Jerom,  one  of  the  most  learned  of  the  fathers,  vol.  1,  174,  175; 
abusive  to  his  antagonists,  a  fanatical  applauder  of  celibacy,  vol. 
1,  179,  181. 

Jerusalem,  vices  of  the  inhabitants  in  the  fourth  centuiy,  vol.  ly 
182  ;  by  whom  successively  possessed,  vol.  2,  206,  208,  209. 

Jews,  their  government  originally  democratic,  vol.  1,  277;  re- 
marks on  their  character  in  ancient  times,  vol.  1,  290  ;  the  pre- 
cautions they  took  to  preserve  their  sacred  writings  ui:icorrupted, 
vol.  1,  28.1,  284 ;  the  great  mistake  into  which  they  fell  re- 
specting the  Messiah,  vol.  2,  163,  167  ;  by  whom  attacked  and 
oppressed  prior  to  the  Christian  aara,  vol.  2,  2  1 0,  2 1 1  ;  their 
great  sufferings  under  the  Romans,  vol.  2,  196,  198  ;  oppressed  by 
the  Christians  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  1,  196,  197;  subse- 
quent persecutions  and  calamities,  vol.  2,  204,  220,  230,  231  ; 
have  been  deluded  by  numerous  impostors,  vol.  2,  230,  237 ; 
bishop  Kidder's  illiberaj  sentiments  with  respect  to  them,  vol.  2, 
239,  241  ;  enumeration  of  the  countries  in  which  they  are  prin- 
cipally settled,  vol.  2,  242,  243  ;  many  of  them  in  Spain  and 
Portugal  conceal  their  race  and  sentiments,  vol.2,  1-25,  226; 
what  is  known  respecting  the  past  fate  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  vol.  2, 
215,216,  219;  conjecture  respecting  the  present  situation  of 
those  tribes,  vol.  2,  216 — 229  ;  prophecies  relative  to  their  dis- 
persion and  wretched  situation,  vol.  2,  195,  196,  198,  201,  202  ; 
prophecies  relative  to  their  future  restoration,  vol.  2,  205—215  ; 
circumstances   favoring  Uieir  return  to  Judea,  vol.  2,  241,  £42  ; 


GENERAL  397  INDEX. 

conjectures  relative  to  the  causes  which  may  perhaps  contribute 

to  it,  vol.2,  243 — 245. 
Imitation,  necessary  to  the  artist,  vol.  2,  304,  305. 
Impostors,  Jewish,  account  of)  noI.  2,  230 — 237. 
Inconsistency,  bishops  Huid  and  Xe\\tjn  furnish  an  example  of, 

vol.  1,220,  2-1,  2-7,  24  ■. 
Infidelity,  observations  on,  vol.  2,    199,  'TOl  ;  among  what  descrip- 
tion of  persons  it  principally  prevailed  in  France,  vol.  1,  16. 
Inquiry,  freedom  of,  connexion  between  political  and  religious, 

vol.  2,   331 — 3 .° 3  ;  sincerity,  ingeniously   vindiciUed  in  bishop 

Kurd's  Dialogues,  vol.  1,  338 — 241. 
Interpretations  of  prophecy,  some  means  hinted  at  for  forming  a 

probable  judgment  respecting  their  truth  or  falshood,  vol.  1,  42, 

73. 
Joachim  of  Calabria,  his  statement  respecting  Antichrist,   vol.    I, 

202,  203. 
John,  >t.  particulars  respecting  him,  vol.  1,  22 — 25 
Jones,  Sir  William,  extract  from,  vol.  2,  216,  217 
JoRTiN,  Dr.  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  24,  35,  175,  179,  181,  185 — 

187,  188 — 190,  209,  216,  287,  288.  vol.  2,  73^  80,    85,  86,  258 

268,  290 — 293,  315. 
Joseph,  the  patriarch,  his  political  conduct  in  the  latter  part  of  his 

life  highly  censurable,  vol-  1,  4,  5. 
Josephus,  statements  borrowed  from  him,  vol.  1,286.  vol.  2,  1,  1 81, 

196—198. 
Irenxus,  curious  quotation  from,  vol.  2,  358. 
Isaiah,  his  style  characterised,  vol.  2,  86  ;  the  period  in  which  he 

lived,  vol.  2,  87 ;  eminent  for  the  clearness  of  his  propheci;;^ 

relative  to  the  kingdom  and  dispensation  of  the  Messiah,   vol.  2, 

81,  87,  94,  96,  360,  361. 
Istes  of  the  sea,  that  expression  explained,  vol.  2,  75,  76. 
Israelites,  warned  against  having  a  king,  vol.  1,  5. 
Italy,  its  miserable  state  during  a  large  part  of  the  fourth  and 

fifth  centuries,  vol.  2,  61,  62,  64 — 67  ;  the  centre  of  arts  and  the 

promoter  of  literature  among  tlie  nations  of  modern  Europe 

vol.  2,  294,  296,  302—304. 
Judea,  its  ancient  population,  vol.  2,  241. 
Julian,  his  account  of  the  persecutions  carried  on  in  the   reign  of 

his  predecessor,  vol.  1,   192;  his  declaration  to  the   citizens  of 

Antioch  in  favor  of  frugality,  vol.  2,  53,  54. 


GENERAL  398  INDEX. 

JuRiEU,  M.  account  of,  vol.  1,  84,  85,  92,  103;  extracts  from, 
vol.  1,  84,88—95,  121,  254—255,256.  vol.  2,  11,  12,  228» 
348. 

Justinian,  Ms  arbitrary  and  persecuting  conduct,  vol.  2,  20 — 22  ; 
his  reign  very  calamitous,  vol.  2,  63,  64. 

Kidder,  bishop,  his  illiberal  advice  respecting  the  JeAvs,  vol.  2,  239 
—241. 

The  kingdom  of  God,  or  kingdom  of  Heaven^  meaning  of  the  ex- 
pressions, vol.  2,   162,  163,  174,  175. 

Kings,  censured  by  Dr.  Ow^en,  vol.  I,  55,  56,  268;  vol.  2,  149  ; 
their  power  of  destroying  most  effectual,  vol.  2,  63,  64 ;  what 
the  king  of  Prussia  says  respecting  them,  vol.  2,  153. 

Knowlege,  what  circumstances  obstruct  the  cultivation  of  it, 
vol.  2,  270 ;  the  great  effects  it  has  produced,  and  is  likely  to 
produce,  in  the  political  world,  vol.  1,  254,  255. 

K^<v»,  the  ineaning  it  sometimes  has,  vol.  1,  147. 

Lactantius,  his  mode  of  interpreting  prophecy,  vol.  2,  357,  358. 

Lancaster,  Dr.  his  symbolical  Dictionary  valuable,  vol.  1,  ^b^  36. 

Language,  Hebrew,  particulars  relative  to,  vol.  1,  293. 

Languages,  modern  European,  in  what  manner  they  have  been  im- 
proved, vol.  2,  304,  305. 

Lardner,  Dr.  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  21—23,  184,  188.  194;  vol. 
2,  3,  165,  166. 

Latter  times^  period  so  called  in  prophecy,  thought  to  be  probably 
approaching  by  Sir  L  Newton,  and  Dr.  Hartley,  vol.  1,  £05. 
vol.  2,  157,  158. 

Learning,  not  always  rewarded,  vol.  1,  67,  68;  decline  of  it  in 
Europe  to  what  causes  to  be  attributed,  vol.  2,  305 — 315  ;  '.  hris- 
tianity  favorable  to  it,  vol.  2,  287—^99,  301—315,  320,  321. 
See  literature. 

Leechm AN,  Dr.  his  behaviour  on  his  death-bed,  vol.  2,  328;  ex- 
tracts from,  vol.  2,  334—341. 

Liberty,  political,  may  be  expected  to  be  progressive  in  its 
course,  vol.  2.  13,  14;  its  progress  assisted  by  Christianity, 
vol.  1,  215,  216,  vol.  2,  274—341. 

Libraries,  particulars  respecting,  vol.  2,  289,290 — 292,  296 — 298, 
301—303. 

Lightfoot,  Dr.  extracts  from,  vol.  2,  350—352. 


GENERAL  399  INDEX. 

Literature,  danger  of  its  complete  destruction,  in  the  dark 
ages,  vol.  2,  287 — 296;  state  of  it  in  Germany,  vol.  2,  101, 
102. 

Longevity  of  those  who  live  in  the  period  of  the  millennium  fore- 
told, vol.  2,  360 — 363,  370 — 372, 

Lord's  supper,  compulsory  mode  of  administerir.g  it,  vol.  1,  191, 
192. 

Lorenzo  de  Medicis,  his  exertions  in   favor  of  literature,  vol.  2|f 
302. 

Louis,  XIV.  conduct  of,  vol.  1,  1 17,  134. 

Lonis  XVL  found  himself  obliged  to  invite  the  people  of  France 
to  accomplish  a  change,  vol.  1,  12,  13,  90. 

LowMAN,  Mr.  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  49,  70,  78,  158,  159,  197,  199, 
26i',  273.  vol.  2,  53,  350,  352,  353. 

Ludovicus,  supposed  by  some  commentators  to  be  denoted  by  the 
number  666,  vol.  1,   131 — 136. 

Macedonius,  a  violent  persecutor,  vol.  1,  191 — 193. 

Mahometanism,  causes  w^hich  paved  the  way  for  it,  vol.  1,  194. 
vol.  2,  55,  69,  70  ;  its  sects  very  numerous,  vol.  2,  313,  314. 

Maimonides,  Moses,  particulars  respecting,  vol.  2,  38. 

Mamalukes,  their  origin,  vol.  2,  132  ;  their  number  kept  up  not 
by  marriage,  but  by  the  purchase  of  Asiatic  slaves,  vol,  2,  133  ; 
limitation  of  their  power  by  the  Turks,  vol.  2,  132  ;  great  in- 
crease of  it  during  the  present  century,  vol.  2,  132;  their  op- 
pressions, vol.  2,  132,  133,  135— -137;  their  robust  health,  vol. 
2,  132,    33  ;  their  valor  and  personal  expertness,  vol.  2,  138. 

Man  of  Sin,  meaning  of  the  words,  vol.  1,  161  ;  prophecy  relating 
to,  vol.  1,   160 — 169,  193,  194. 

Manicheans,  their  treatment  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.1,  187. 

Mankind,  when  most  happy,  vol.  2,  49  ;  visibly  diminished  in 
the  reign  of  Justinian,  vol  2,  63,  64. 

Manuscripts,  particulars  relative  to  valuable  collections  of,  vol.  2, 

SO 304  ;  in  what  manner  and  by  whom  they  were  formerly 

written,  vol.  2,  295,  298. 

Martin  of  Tours,  his  character,  vol.  1,  188. 

Martyrs,  their  prior  resurrection,  an  opinion  not  founded  in  scrip- 
ture, vol.  2,  352—354  ;  festivals  in  honor  of  them  numerous  in 
the  fourth  century,  vol.  1,  178,  181,  182. 

Masorites,  their  minute  diligence,  vol.  1,  283. 


GENEHAL  40i)  '  INEEX. 

Mathematicians,  in  the  second  and  several  subsequent  centuries 
unjustly  classed  with  astrologers,  vol.  2,  311. 

Mecca,  caravan  of,  circumstances  respecting,  vol.  2,  105,  112, 
113. 

Mede,  Joseph,  circumstances  relative  to,  vol.  1,  39—43,  57; 
vol.  2,  34,  194;  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  8,  20,  44,  169,  170,  261. 
vol.2,9,  10,  12,  16,35—37,40,^170,  171,  176,  177,  184,185,193, 
0  206,  £08,  246,  247,  259,  262,  263;  his  opinions  stated,  vol.  1, 
14,  15,  35,  36,  49,  50',  57,  59,  76,  82,  106,  107,  127,  137,  138— 
140,  142,  148,  149,  197,  265,  266,278. 

Memory,  must  be  exercised  earlier  than  fancy  or  reason,  vol.  2, 
304,  305. 

Military  skill  circumstances  favorable  to  the  acquisition  of,  vol. 
2,  253. 

Millennium,  characteristics  of  this  period,  vol.  2,  257,  258,  348, 
S49— '351,  352,  353,  354,  355 — 357,  359,  361,  362,  363,  368, 
370 — 372. 

Mishna,  some  account  of,  vol.  I,  283. 

Moguls,  their  mighty  conquests,  vol.  2,  1 16-~1 19. 

Monarchies,  antichristian,  of  Europe,  by  what  emblems 
expressed,  vol.  1,  48,  49,  201 — 206.  vol.  2,  3—5,  9— II ;  pro- 
phecies relative  to  their  destruction,  vol.  1,  142,  143,  271 — 278. 
vol.  2,  3—13,  153 — 157,  355. 

Monarchies,  antichristian,  those  of  the  world  in  general  destined 
to  be  destroyed,  vol.  2,  7—9,  11—13,  35—47,  71—77,  87—89, 
91 — 96,  171  —  173,  176. 

MoNARCHS,  their  censurable  interference  in  matters  of  con- 
science, vol,  1,  54,  60,  162,  175,  183,  184,  186 — 193,  274.  vol. 
2,  149,  150.  vol.  1,  54 ;  the  ridiculous  titles  they  have  assumed, 
vol.  1,  56,  181,  182;  those  in  the  North  of  Europe  far  more 
formidable  than  those  in  the  South,  vol.  2,  101,  102. 

MoNARCHs,  European,  passages  in  the  prophecies  supposed  to 
relate  to  the  fate  of  some  of  them,  vol.  1,  126,  14  5—149,  256 
— 263,  265 — 269,  271 — .78.  vol.  2,  3 — 13,40—44. 

Monastic  Institutions,  progress  of  them,  vol.  1,  180,  181; 
vol  2,  297  ;  beneficial  effects  resulting  from  them,  vol.  2,  290 — 
295,  297—299,  300—304. 

Monks,  their  tumultuous  proceedings  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  I, 
.190,  191  ;  in  the  middle  ages  the  instructors  of  youth,  vol.  2, 


CiKNERAL  101  iKDEX. 

294,  297;  many  of  them  at  that  period  diligently  employed  in 
the  copying  of  manuscripts,  vol.  2,  298. 
Months,  among  many  ancient  nations  consisted  only  of  30  days, 

vol.  1,  114,  115. 
More,  Dr.  Hknry,  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  41,  42,  106—108,  116, 

210.  vol.  2,  9,  24. 
MosHEiM,  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  165,  172 — 184.  vol.  2,  296. 
Mountains,  favorable  to  freedom,  vol.  I,  119. 
Nantes,  edict  of,  its  revocation  an  important  £cra,  vol.  1 ,   1 1 6,  11 7, 

134. 
Navigation,  reasons  for  supposing  that  hereafter  it  will  not  be  so 
frequently  destructive  of  human  life,  as  it  now  is,  vol.  2-,  280j, 
281. 
Xewcombe,  archbishop,  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  284—288,  «92 

—294.   vol.2,   11,247,254,202. 

Newton,  bishop,  once  a  friend  to  liberty,  vol.  1,  228,  230— .332  ; 

afterwards  a  violent  asserter  of  sentiments  hostile  to  freedom, 

vol.    I,  228 — 232;  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  42,  50,  51,84,   138, 

228 — ^30,  243,  295.  vol.  1,  7,  10,  16,  105 — 108,  130,  197,  199, 

202,  204,  21 1,  215  ;  his  interpretations  or  opinions  combated  or 

denied,  vol  1,   166,  167,  169,  193,  245.  vol.  2,  30,  48 — 50,  53, 

72—74,  127,  128,  138,  148,    149,  189—194,   247—251,  348— 

351,  365-— <360.     See  also  pre-face. 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  Mr.  Gibbon's  testimony  respecting  him  as  a 

critic  and  theologian,  \o\.  2,  3 ;  extracts  from  him,  vol.  1,  20, 

44,  45,  76,   144.  vol.  2,    3,    12,   15,  26,  38,  96,  157,  158,  354; 

his  opuiions  stated,  vol.  1,   119,  138,  140,  155,  178,  vol.2,  75, 

133,  366. 

Nice,  Council  of,  circumstances  relative  to,  vol.  1,  185,  186,  194o 

Nicholas,  V.  some  particvilar^  respecting  this  illustrious  man, 

vol.  1,  304,  305. 
.Normans,  effects  pi-oduced  by  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  vol, 

2,  296,  297,  323. 
Nvimbers,  which  occur  in  Daniel,  opinions  of  commentators  rela- 
tive to,  vol.  2,  15,  25 — :j1;  opinions  of  comm.entators  respect- 
ing those  foundin  the  ApocalypsCj  vol.  1,11 3 — 1 18.  vol.  2,  1 5,26. 
Nuns,  opinions  jprcvalent  in  the  fourth  century  relative  to  tliem, 

vol.  1,  181. 
Octai,  a  million  and  a  half  of  cavalry  subject  to  liis  comnaand,  vo] 
2.  116,  117, 


tVKNERAL  4-^2  INliEV 

Oil,  very  extensively  useful,  vol.  2,  54. 

Oracles,  heathen,  circumstances  which  contributed  to  bestoAv  on 
them  a  qertain  degree  of  credit,  vol.  1,  34,  35,  285,  286,  301, 
302, 
Owen,  Dr.  extracts  from,  vol.  I,   55,  256,   268,   269.  vol.2,  38, 

149,  150. 
Pagan  WORSHIP,  public  exercise  of,  in  a  great  degree  tolerated  by 
the  seven  first  Clmstian  emperors,  vol.   2,  73—75;  afterwards 
prohibited  by  persecuting  statutes,  vol.  1,  189,  190. 
Palatinate,  laid  waste  by  order  of  Louis  XIV.  vol.  1,  134. 
Palavicini,  cardinal,  quotation  from,  vol.  1,  61. 
P&ley,Dr.  extracts  frgm,  vol,  1,  166.  vol.  2,  267,  282,  283,  316— 

320,  326,  327,  334. 
Papal  power,  its  destruction  foretold,  vol.  1,  243-i-«246. 
Parchment,  formerly  scarce,  vol.  2,  225. 
Parr,  Dr.  the  characters  of  Warburton  and   Hurd  contrasted  by 

him,  vol.  1,  237. 
Pelusium,  its  situation,  vol.    1,    126,  127;  a  v/all  of  great  length 

built  near  it,  vol.  2/111. 
Penance,  the  mode  of  performing  it,  vol.  1,  176,  177. 
Persecution,  diffei'ent  instances  of,  vol.  1,  55,  85,  162,  185 — il93  , 
maxims  cJ,  by  whorn  inculcated,  vol.  1,  226,  227.  vol.  2,  239— 
241  ;  causes  of  it,  vol.  2,  318 — .320. 
Persia,  ravaged  by  Attila,  vol.   2,    116;  conquered  by  the  suc- 
cessors of  Zingis,  vol.  2,  116  ;  by  Temerlane,  vol.  2,  117,  118; 
by  the  Afghans,  vol.  2,  218  ;  the  Jews  who  inhabited  it  numer- 
ous at  different  periods,  vol.  2,   216,  224,  225,  230—233,  237, 
238. 
Fermans,  conquer  Egypt,  vol.2,  123,  124;  often   make  inroads 

into  A    bia,  vol-  2,  112. 
Pilgrimages,  frequent  in  the  fourti:  century,  vol.  1,  178  ;  have  not 

been  completely  destitute  of  utility,  vol.  2,  322,  323. 
Piratical  depredations  in  i:.urope,  cause  which  principally  checked 

them,  A'ol.  2,  323. 
Plague,  how  extirpated  in  Egypt,  \ol.  2,   1?9,  130. 
Political  corrupion,  its  extensive  ditfusion,  vol.  2, 281. 
Poor,  the  laboiious,  in  what  respects  Christianity  has  benefited  them, 

vol.  :.,  327,  o28. 
Popes,  some  of  them  great  patrons  of  learning,  vol.  1,  255.  vol.  2, 
303,  304 ;  sometimes  aided  the  cause  of  peace  and  humanity, 
vol,  2,  321,  322. 


•SEVERAL  403  ij,DEX. 

P6RTEUS,  BISHOP,  extracts  from,  voL  2,  45,  46,  278,  279,  320, 
327,  328. 

Power,  when  great,  attended  with  the  most  serious  moral  dangers 
to  him  who  is  in  possession  of  it,  vol.  2,   14,  15. 

Prayers,  often  made  subservient  to  poUtical  purposes,  vol.  2,  276. 

Prayers,  public,  effect  produced  on  literature  by  their  being  for- 
merly always  in  Latin,  vol.  2,  294. 

Prelates,  English,  just  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  toleration  ad- 
vanced by  some,  by  Hoadly,  vol.1,  210;  Taylor,  vol.  1,  216, 
221;  Clayton,  vol.  1,216;  false  sentiments  on  the  same  sub- 
ject advanced  by  others, by  Newton,  vol.  1,  229,  230;  Hurd,  vol. 
1,  232  ;  Kidder,  vol.  2,  239,  240. 

Priestley,  Dr.  quotations  from,  vol.  1,446,  255,  275,  281-^283, 
285,  290,  297,  306,  307.  vol.  2,  2G5,  2.7,  228,  260,  261,  272, 
273,  313,  326.  '^ee  also  preface. 

Priests,  their  privileges  in  Egypt,  vol.  I,  5  ;  the  lofty  claims  of 
many  among  them,  vol.  1,  59,  60;  their  character  in  the  fourth 
century,  vol.    1,   184;    their  eagerness  at  that  time  to  enrich 
themselves,  vol.  1,  177,  178,   182,   183;  were  at  that  period  be- 
lieved to  have  the  power  of  forgiving  sins,  vol.  1,  176,  177;  this 
high  prerogative  asserted  by  a  learned  divine  of  the  English 
church,  vol.  1,   176 ;  learning  at  one  period  confined  to  tliem, 
vol.  2,  -297,  o25;  their  servility  sometimes  conspicuous,  vol.  1, 
199,214,215,  236;  not  unfrequently  accommodated  their  faith 
to  that  of  the  reigning  prince,  vol.  1,  158,  159  ;  have  often  sup- 
ported civil  tyranny,  vol.  1,  60,  61,  117,  227,  233,  234;  vol.  2, 
324  ;  diminution  of  their  power  regretted  by  bp.  Newton,  vol.  1, 
229.     See  Ecclesiastics. 
Priscillianists,  their  treatment  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  1,  188. 
Property,  uncertainty  of,  a  powerful  motive  to  indolence  and  ex- 

travagance,  vol.  2,  60. 
Prophecies,  scriptural,  numerous,  minute,  and  circumstantial, 
vol.  1,  71,  196,  300,  301  ;  their  accomplishment  often  gradual, 
vol.  2,23,  28,  144,  355. 
Prophecy,  its  existence  pierfectly  compatible  with  our  ideas  of 
the  Deity,  Vol.  1,  280,281;  its  existence  to  be  accounted  for 
only  on  the  supposition  of  its  bjting  divine,  vol.  1,  196,  280,  30 ly 
302  ;  some  of  the  reasons  why  it  was  communicated  to  a  single 
nation,  vol.  1,  299— .301 ;  its  frequent  obscurity  how  to  be  ac- 
counted for,  vol.  1,  30— .32,  296—299,304.  vol.  2,  266—268;, 


GfiNEHAL  404  INDEX. 

means  proper-for  removing  this  obscurity,  vol.  1,  33 — 36,  37, 
293,  294;  its  tendency  to  promote  virtue,  vol.  1,  287;  intended, 
in  the  opinion  of  Sir  I.  Newton  to  have  a  powerful  effect  in  the 
accomplishment  of  great  revolutions,  vol.  2,  157,  158;  argu- 
ments in  favor  of  the  opiniori,  that  it  sometimes  has  a  double 
sense,  vol.  2,  77— .86,  88,  89,  92—94;  often  interpreted  in  too 
liberal  a  manner,  vol.  2,  155,  257,  264,  265,  357 — 360,  363  ;  the 
same  thing  often  represented  in  plain  language,  which  was  Uefore 
described  by  means  of  symbols,  vol.  1,  258,  259,  vol.  2,  165,  166, 
181,  18.%  261,  the  past  tense  often  employed  instead  of  the  fu- 
ture, vol  i,  256.  vol.  2,  87;  much  kuov/lege  often  requisite  in 
order  to  descern  the  full  force  of  the  evidence  in  favor  of  reve- 
lation resulting  fi-omit,  vol.  1,  140,  141. 

PuopHETs,  Hebrew,  arguments  in  favor  of  their  divine  autho- 
rity, vol.  1,  280 — 306;  the  great  uniformity  of  their  religious 
opinions,  vol.  1,  286,  287;  their  courageous  and  disinterested 
conduct,  vol  1,  288,  289  ;  inculcated  elevated  notions  of  the 
Deity,  vol.  1,  285,  288. 

ll^afjjrj;;,  thc  meaning  it  sometimes  has,  vol.  1,   111,112. 

Prussia,  king  of,  extract  from,  tol.  2,  152,  153. 

Public  spirit,  Christianity  favorable  to  it,  vol.  2,  278 — 284,  235— 

*  ''^'-  .  .         ..." 

Purgatory,  popish  doctrine  of,  had  its  origin  in  the  fourth  century, 

vol.  1,   178. 

P».EFORMATioN,  PROTESTANT,  causes  which  Contributed  to  it,  and 
eiTects  v/nich  flowed  from  it,  vol.  1,  28,  29.  vol.  2,  331 — 333. 

Reformers,  Protestant,  almost  all  ecclesiastics,  vol.  2,  295,  303. 

Relics,  the  efficacy  of  them  Relieved  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  1, 
178,  181. 

Religious  opinions,  necessarily  various,  vol.  1,  215,  218. 

Republics,  Jurieu  from  the  stuuy  of  prophecy  appe-rs  to  have  ex- 
pected their  universal  establishment,  vol.  2,  11,  3  48;  same  opi- 
nion appears  to  have  been  maintained  by  other  commentators, 
vol.  1,  42. 

Resentment,  when  properly  exerted,  vol-  2,  280. 

Resistance  to  oppression,  when  a  duty,  vol.  2,  282,  283  ;  per- 
fectly consistent  with  the  precfpts  of  Christianity,  vol.  2,  280  ; 
celebrated  moderns  who  have  distinguished  themselves  by  assert- 
ing the  lawfulness  of  it,  vol.  2,  283. 

Revelation,  why  iis  proof  not  irresistible,  vol.  1,26.  vol.  2,^66,267. 


GENERAL  405  INDEX 

Ribera,  the  Jesuit,  mention  of,  vol.  1,  76. 

Rights  OF  Man,  circumstances  or  institutions  whicli  favor  their 

recognition,  vol.  2,  271,  275,  278,  284 — ^86, 
Robertson,  Dr.  extracts  from,  vol.  2,  112,  288,  292,  321,  322,  325, 
326,  328,  329 — 333. 

Rohilhs,  a  branch  of  ■what  nation,  vol.  2,  222. 

Roman  Empire,  most  prosperous  from  the  year  96,  to  the  year 
1 80,  402  ;  in  that  period,  however,  the  latent  causes  of  decay 
and  corruption  operated,  vol.  2,  307,  309  ;  governed  with  unu- 
sual beneficence  by  Septimius  Severus  and  Alexander  Severus, 
vol.2,  53  ;  miserably  torn  and  afflicted  in  the  reign  of  Gallienus, 
vol.  2,  310;  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourth,  and  during  the 
whole  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  reduced  to  a  very  ca- 
lamitous state  by  the  scarcity  of  food  and  the  irruptions  of  the 
Bai'barians,  vol.  2,  57 — 70  ;  causes  of  its  decline  and  dissolution, 
vol.  2,  307 — 1310  ;  when  its  fall  may  be  dated,  vol.  2,  58. 

Roman  legions,  their'degeneracy  in  the  reign  of  Constantius,  vol. 
2,  57,  58, 

Roman  Catholic  clergy,  causes  which  prompted  many  among  them 
to  cultivate  literature,  vol.  2,  332. 

R-OME,  referred  to  in  the  Apocalypse,  vol.  1,  196,  199 — 203;  re- 
peatedly besieged,  and  a  prey  to  famine  in  the  fifth  and  sixth 
centuries,  vol.  2,  66,  67;  its  pre-eminence  under  the  pontiffs  the 
source  of  some  benefits,  vol.  2,  293,  294,  296,  303,  304,  321, 
322. 

Romish  Church,  not  chargeable  with  the  introcluctio7i  of  so  many 
coiTuptions  as  is  commonly  supposed,  vol.  1,  183,  184,  190,  191, 
206.  vol.  2,  69,  70 ;  has  long  been  in  a  state  of  decline,  vol.  1, 
245. 

Rousseau,  one 'of  his  objections  against  Christianity  stated,  vol.  2, 
338,  339  ;  shown  to  be  unsolid,  vol.2,  278 — '282,  335 — 341. 

Russia,  conquered  by  the  Tartars,  vol.  2,  116,  117;  beneficial 
change  in  that  country  produced  by  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity,- vol.  2,  293,  323  ;  supposition  relative  to  its  future  desti- 
ny, vol.  2,  244,  250,  251;  valuable  manuscripts  it  possesses,  vol. 
2,  302,  303. 

Russia,  empress  of,  her  conduct  alluded  to,  vol.  1,  248, 

Sebatai  Sevi,  a  Jew  of  Aleppo,  account  of,  vol.  2,  233 — .?36. 

Saints,  worship  of,  an  established  practice  in  the  fourth  century, 
vol.  1,  178,  179. 

Samaritan  Pentateuch,  mention  of,  vol.  1,  281, 


GENERAI.  405  INDEX* 

Samarit  n's  cruelty  treated  by  Justinian,  vol.  2,  22. 
Scholastic  philosophy,  circumstances  respecting,  vol.  2,  313,  314. 
Schools,  where  established  in  the  dark  ages,  vol.  2,  ::94,  297. 
Seals,  seven,  general  remarks  on,  vol.  2,  46 — .50  ;  some  account 

of  the  first  seal,  vol.  2,  50  ;  of  the  second,  vol.  2,  49,  50  ;  of  the 

third,  vol.  2,  5 1 — 69  •  of  the  fourth,  vol.  2,  69  ;  of  the  fifth,  vol. 

2,  70  ;  of  the  sixth,  vol.  2,  71—76  ;  of  the  seventh,  vol.  2,  368, 

369, 
Septuagint,  some  account  of,  vol.  I,  283,284. 
Servants,  in  the  opinion  of  bp.  Newton,  ought  to  be  reduced  to  a 

state  of  greater  subjection,  vol.  1,  2  29. 
Servetus,  the  intemperate  language  employed  against  him,  vol.  1 , 

2:6,  227. 
Severus,  one  of  the  principal  authors  of  the  decline  of  the  Roman 

empire,  vol.  2,  308. 
Sins,  superstitious  methods  of  obtaining  the  pardon  of  them,  vol. 

1,  176,  177. 
Slavery,  domestic,  Christianity  a  powerful  enemy  to,  vol.  2,  328 — 

331. 
Slave-Trade,  carried  on  in  Asia,  vol.  2,  132,  133. 
Spain,  its  sufferuigs  in  the  fifth  century,  vol.  2,  61 ;  scarcity  of 

books  there  in  the  tenth  century,  vol.  2,  291,  292. 
Spalatro,  niins  of,  observations  on,  vol.  2,  311. 
Speech,  freedom  of,  ought  in  the  opinion  of  bishop  Newton  to  b^ 

shackled,  vol.  1,  229. 
Stair,  earl  of,  anecdote  of,  vol.  },  15. 
Subscription  to  articles,  evils  of,  and  objections  to,  vol.  1,  195j  209^ 

210,212 — 214,215 — 221,232. 
Superstition,  causes  of  its  ascendency  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  1, 

176;  the  Hebrew  prophets  an  obstacle  to  its  progress  in  Judea, 

voL   1,  286,  290  ;  occasionally  productive  of  beneficial  effects, 

vol.  2,  333,  294,  322,  329. 
Symbolic  language,  advantages  of  it,  vol.  1,  3^,  55,  36;  not  so 

vague  and  indeterminate  as  many  suppose,  vol.  Ij  32 — .35  ;  vol. 

2,44;  on  the  means  proper  for  explaining  it,  vol.  1,  33,  37; 

whence  it  came  to  be  the  language  of  prophecy,  vol.  1,  30 — .36  ; 

propriety  and  consistency  attended  to  in  the  use  of  it,  vol  1 , 

3  15,  116,  263;  on  the  nature  of  it,  vol.  1,  36,  37,  115,  116. 
Syria,  great  decrease  of  its  population,  vol.  2,  241,  242. 
Synagogues,  Jewish,  circumstances  respecting,  vol.  1,  281. 


CENEKAL  407  i^JDEJi. 

Tamerlano,  his  conquests  and  immense  depredations,  vol.  2,  11 7, 
118,  255. 

Tartars,  from  whom  supposed  to  be  derived,  vol.  2,  246 — 248  ^ 
their  armies  extremely  numerous,  vol.  2,  1 15 — -1 18  ;  have  made 
more  extensive  conquests  than  any  other  people,  vol.  2,  1 1 5-r- 
118,  250;  their  diet,  vol.  2,  251  ;  their  habitations,  vol.  2,  251, 
252;  their  weapons,  vol.2,  '49,250;  their  exercises,  vol.2, 
253,  254;  the  cruel  and  destructive  spirit  of  their  depredations, 
vol.  2,    118,  254,  255. 

Tartary,  its  great  extent,  vol.  2,  1 1  & ;  testimonies  of  authors  re- 
specting many  of  the  Jews  being  seated  there,  vol.  2,  223,  2*4. 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  extracts  from,  vpl   1,  215,  216,  221. 

Temples,  heathen,  by  whom  usu;illy  destroyed,  vpl.  1,   190. 

Theodore,  of  Tcirsus,  his  meritorious  conduct  in  England,  vol.  2, 
296,  297. 

Theodosiancode,  disgraced  by  mauy  persecuting  laws,  vol.  1,  186. 
190, 

Theodosius,  a  violent  persecutor,  vol.  1,  187,  189. 

Theory  of  the  earth,  account  of  some  of  Dr.  Burnet's  ideas  on 
that  subject,  vol.  2,  343 — 347. 

Thrace,  laid  Avaste  by  the  Visigoths,  vol.  2,  58,  59. 

Tott,  bai'onde,  extract  frorn,  vol.  2,  128. 

Transubstantiation,  foundation  of  this  doctrine  laid  in  the  fourth 
century,  vol.  1,   178. 

Trinitarians,  persecuted  by  Valens,  vol.  1 ,   1 88, 

Truce  of  God,  circumstances  respecting  the  regulation  so  called, 
vol.  2,  321,  322. 

Trumpets,  seven,  general  remarks  on  them,  vol.  1,  137,  14^. 
vol,  2,  49,  99  ;  some  account  of  the  fourth  trumpet,  vol.  2,  36 ; 
of  the  fifth,  vol.  1,  138 — 140;  of  the  sixth,  vol.  1,  139,  140;  of 
the  seventh,  vol.  1,  142 — 149,  151—153,252,  253.  vol.  2,  33.^ 
48, 

Turkish  government,  spirit  of,  vol.  2,  135,  241. 

Turks,  their  conquests  and  downfal,  supposed  to  be  foretold  by  S  i. 
John,  vol,  1,  139,  I40.  vol.  2,  67,  70,  99—101  ;  and  by  Daniel, 
vol.  i,  103 — 108;  some  account  of  their  conquests,  vqI.  1,  140^ 
vol.  2,   105 — 107. 

Vandals,  their  devastations,  vol.  2,  61. 

Vestals  their  privileges  preserved  after  the  establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity, in  the  Roman  empire,  vol.  2,  74. 

Vials,  SEVEN,  general  remarks  on,  vol.  1,  1,9,10,  151 154,  157. 

vol.   2,  31—99;  thQ  first  vial  coticed^  V9I.  1,  155-  the  seconc^ 


GENERAL  40S  INDEX. 

vol.  1,  154,  155;  and  the  third,  vol.  1,  154,  15G;  a  loiigev  ac- 
count of  the  fourth,  vol.  1,  2—19,  149,  150,  156,  157;  of  the 
fifth,  vol.  1,  157 — 160  ;  of  the  sixth,  vol.2,  99 — 101  ;  and  of  tbi 
seventhj  vol,  1,  259,  262  ;  vol.  2,  140 — 144. 

Vigilantius,  attempts  to  stem  the  tide  of  superstition,  vol.  1,  179. 

Virgin  Marj',  worshipped  in  the  fourth  century,  vol.  1,  180. 

Virtue,  hints  relative  to  the  means  of  making  a  progress  in  it,  vol. 
1,  306,  307  ;  political  tyranny  highly  unfavorable  to  it,  vol.  2,  14. 

Vitringa,  some  account  of,  vol.  1,  102.  vol  2,39;  quotations  fi>om, 
vol.  1,  14,  20,  26,  58,  103,  104,  2'57,  265,  266.  vol.  2,  32—31, 
37,  41,  52,  71 — 74,  86,  88,  89,  93,  262,  350,  368;  his  opinion.; 
stated,  vol.  1,  71,  74.  82,  99,  108,  121,  131,  137,  145,  147,  149, 
202,  259,  261,  267,  268,  270.  vol.  2,  22,  40,  48—51,  75,  96, 
93,  100,  141,  147,  215,   228,  263,  351,  360,  365,  368. 

VoLNEY,  his  character  as  a  traveller,  vol.  2,  112;  extracts  from, 
vol.  2,  111,  112,  120,  i21,   126,  129— .131,  132 — 139,  241,  312. 

Wakefield,  Mr.  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  167,  205,  212—215.  vol.  2, 
182,  188,  333. 

Waller,  Mr.  his  insincerities  glossed  over  by  bishop  Hurd,  vol.  1, 
238—241, 

Waldenses,  circumstances  relating  to,  vol.  1,  87,  202. 

War,  nature  of  it  briefly  described,  vol.  2,  276  ;  the  only  thing 
attended  to  in  the  education  of  a  gentleman  in  the  dark  ages, 
vol.  '2,  289  ;  the  cruel  spirit  of  it  mitigated  by  Christianity, 
vol.  2,  326,  327,330,  331. 

Wars,  destined  hereafter  to  cease,  vol.  2,  356,  359—361;  those 
called  religious,  to  vvhat  general  cause  to  be  attributed,  vol.  2, 
318—320, 

Warburton,  bishop,  extracts  from,  vol.  1,33.  vol,  2,  37,  38,  78, 
82,  85,  303.     See  also  note  8,  in  preface. 

Westphalia,  treaty  of,  vol.  2,  152. 

Wliiston,  Mr.  extracts  from,  vol.  1,  47,  48,  53,  56,  60,  68,  79,  15  I, 
257,  278.  vol.  2,207. 

Wicked  men,  may  be  employed  by  Providence  to  punish  the  Avick- 
ed,  and  to  effect  beneficial  revolutions,  vol.  1,  125,  126,  128. 
1^9,289. 

Worship,  public,  an  advantage  attendant  upon  it  stated,  vol.  2,  284 
— 286. 

Wi'iting,  materials  for,  formerly  scarce,  vol.  2,  294,  295. 

Yaroslof,  meritorious  conduct  of  that  prirxe,  vol.  2,  323. 

Zingis,  his  extensive  conquests  and  devastations,  vo^.  2,  116,  25.> 


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